How do you make universal credit better? For policymakers it’s likely the next biggest question after how to sort out you know what (distant second, unhappily).
Here’s some ideas from the ‘horse’s mouth’ then. They were published online last week by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation*.
From Working Parents
From Job Centre Work Coaches
None of this is surprising, but the commentary and case studies are properly informative.
Here at CARBS we’re working with local Job Centre Plus, Reigate & Banstead Council, Raven Housing and national Citizens Advice to make UC better for people in R&B. We note parents’ great despondency about their chances of getting a better job or earning more within the rules – and their ‘misperceptions of the taper rate’.
We’re confident we’ll be able to support clients by raising their understanding and hopes.
There’s interest too in the JRF reports of self-employed parents. Many think the minimum income floor badly needs reform and they’re held back by lack of business know-how. The latter point was the basis of our 2017-18 campaign for better opportunities to learn the essentials of running a business.
* How can Universal Credit help working parents move out of poverty? Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Britain Thinks, February 2019