18 Oct Number of people receiving Universal Credit support in East of England reaches 190,000
MORE than 190,000 people in the East of England are now receiving personalised Universal Credit support, new figures show.
The latest data, published today reveals that 2.5 million people nationwide are benefiting from Universal Credit support nationwide – an increase of 5% over the month.
Universal Credit, which is now available in every jobcentre across the UK, simplifies the benefit system and replaces six previous benefits with a single monthly payment.
The government continues to make improvements and strengthen the welfare safety net – this month it announced increased support for parents with their childcare payments, dedicated funding for Armed Forces Champions in jobcentres and tighter measures to reduce fraud.
Universal Credit is already transforming lives, with those on Universal Credit moving into work significantly faster and staying in work longer than under the old system.
The release of the latest Universal Credit data comes in the same week that the UK employment rate was recorded at a near record high rate of 75.9%.
There was further good news in terms of unemployment, which has fallen over the year to 3.9%.
As Universal Credit is available in all UK jobcentres the number of people claiming the benefit will continue to rise naturally. This does not necessarily mean an increase in unemployment for the area.
Minister for Welfare Delivery Will Quince said:
“Universal Credit is a force for good, providing vital support across the length and breadth of the East of England and helping people into work.
“Universal Credit provides a vital safety net to millions, preventing families from falling through the cracks. We continue to make improvements – in the last month alone we have increased childcare support, announced new funding to help veterans and their families, and brought in new measures to crack down on fraudsters.”
