Government must not “bury its head in the sand” over Universal Credit failure

The Government must urgently reconsider the rollout of Universal Credit (UC) and heed the growing warnings about the damage the policy has caused. Contributor Jordan Marshall, IPSE’s Policy Development Manager, commented IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed). 
government

The Government must urgently reconsider the rollout of Universal Credit (UC) and heed the growing warnings about the damage the policy has caused. Contributor Jordan Marshall, IPSE’s Policy Development Manager, commented IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed).

The call follows an intervention by the National Audit Office (NAO), who highlighted a series of inaccuracies made in an address by Esther McVey, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Jordan Marshall, IPSE’s Policy Development Manager, commented: “It’s extremely concerning that the Government continues to assert that Universal Credit (UC) has been a success. This is despite the National Audit Office (NAO) and many other independent bodies clearly warning otherwise.

“The Government’s claim that the policy is being rolled out too slowly runs directly against the NAO’s recent calls for a ‘pause’ in the policy. The NAO report clearly highlighted the ballooning costs of the scheme, as well as the “difficulties and hardship” individuals are experiencing as UC is rolled out.

“Nowhere is its damaging impact felt more clearly than among the self-employed. The report reiterated that the self-employed ‘lose out due to monthly reporting’. This is a huge problem as it does not take into account the fact that the income of the self-employed varies hugely from month to month. This means a self-employed person can end up £3,000 worse off each year under UC compared with an employee earning the same amount.

“Why, for example, should a farmer, who sells or produces crops only at a particular time of year, be penalised? The Government must address the problem of monthly reporting by considering self-employed earnings over a more reflective annual basis.

“The warnings of not just the NAO but many other independent bodies must be heeded. The Government cannot bury its head in the sand about Universal Credit’s failures any longer. It must urgently rectify the problems rather than pretending they do not exist.”


Receive more HR related news and content with our monthly Enewsletter (Ebrief)

Read more

Latest News

Read More

Why so many smart leaders are terrible at leading people

29 July 2025

Talent Management

29 July 2025

Deepfake interviews. Synthetic faces. Tampered documents. As generative AI reshapes identity fraud, traditional screening methods are being put to the test. Giant Screening CEO Mathew...

Worklife Balance

28 July 2025

The issue isn’t just about time management; it’s about mental bandwidth. The cognitive load of managing multiple priorities can leave little room for self-care, creativity,...

Newsletter

Receive the latest HR news and strategic content

Please note, as per the GDPR Legislation, we need to ensure you are ‘Opted In’ to receive updates from ‘theHRDIRECTOR’. We will NEVER sell, rent, share or give away your data to third parties. We only use it to send information about our products and updates within the HR space To see our Privacy Policy – click here

Latest HR Jobs

Queen Mary University of London – IT Services DirectorateSalary: £54,617 to £60,901 per annum

University of Sussex – Human Resources Salary: £25,733 to £29,179. Grade 4, per annum, pro rata if part time

UCL – Chemistry Department / Faculty of Mathematical & Physical SciencesSalary: £54,172 to £63,752

University of Oxford – Department of PsychiatrySalary: £31,459 to £36,616 (discretionary range to £39,749) per annum. Grade 5

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE

Read the latest digital issue of theHRDIRECTOR for FREE