TORIES REFUSE TO PAUSE UNIVERSAL CREDIT

TORIES REFUSE TO PAUSE UNIVERSAL CREDIT MISERY AND HARDSHIP –
LABOUR AM

Eluned Morgan AM has strongly condemned local MPs Simon Hart and
Stephen Crabb for not voting to “pause and fix” Universal Credit.

The Mid and West Wales Assembly Member has hit out at Tory MPs across
the region for their failure to stand up against a system that has
been criticised for pushing working and non-working families into
debt.

Labour is determined to stop the poorest families from waiting six
weeks before they receive any kind of money, forcing a debate and vote
in the House of Commons yesterday (18th October, 2017).

Eluned Morgan AM said:

“The rollout of Universal Credit will continue at an even faster
pace in the coming months. Given what we have seen elsewhere there
is a real concern amongst organisations like the Citizens Advice
Bureau and the foodbanks operating locally that those in the greatest
need will become even poorer.

“An estimated 10,500 people will move onto Universal Credit in
Preseli Pembs by the middle of next year with a further 9,500 affected
in South Pembrokeshire and West Carmarthenshire. The vote was an
opportunity to take stock and to introduce measures to protect people
and I’m proud my Labour colleagues are addressing this issue.”

In Pembrokeshire, those currently in receipt of six benefits
including Child Tax Credit, Housing Benefit or Income based
Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) will move over to the new single payment
from May 2018 when Universal Credit goes live from Haverfordwest,
Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven and Cardigan JobcentrePlus offices.

The project to create a single, in arrears payment has cost many
times more than originally predicted and has taken far longer than
expected to implement and has been criticised by the National Audit
Office as suffering from “weak management, ineffective control and
poor governance’.

Eluned Morgan AM continued: “The Chief Executive of the CAB in
Newcastle, where Universal Credit was piloted, described an
unacceptable situation following the rollout, with families who had no
previous financial concerns being pushed into debt and referred to
foodbanks.

“It is shocking that the Tory Party told their MPs to abstain on
this vote. Acting together, Simon Hart and Stephen Crabb are failing
in their duty to stand up for the most vulnerable – a truly
shameful act which will condemn those with the least to even greater
poverty, and the stress and ill health that goes with it.”