The Work and Pensions Committee has held the first oral evidence session of its inquiry into Universal Credit and the wait for a first payment.
The committee questioned charities and support groups and examined the impact of the minimum five-week wait on people who are making a claim for Universal Credit, the effectiveness of advance payments and ways in which the wait might be reduced or eliminated.
The first panel was with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Trussell Trust, Citizens Advice and the Child Poverty Action Group and focused on some of the broader issues around the five-week wait and the impact it has on Universal Credit claimants.
The Committee then questioned Changing Lives, Leonard Cheshire and StepChange Debt Charity about some of the specific problems faced by groups with particular needs, including disabled people, single parents, people leaving prison and people experiencing homelessness.
The Work and Pensions Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the Committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Work and Pensions and its associated public bodies. Wikipedia