Rochdale chosen as BBC's location for universal credit report

The BBC reported from Rochdale about universal credit

Rochdale was the chosen backdrop to a BBC report about universal credit on Thursday’s 10pm news (11 October) – despite not being mentioned in the segment.

Standing outside the job centre in Rochdale town centre, the BBC’s social affairs correspondent Michael Buchanan told of how over a million people are claiming the new benefit payment.

He said: “There are currently just over a million people on universal credit and they are on the benefit because they have had a change of circumstances, perhaps they have lost a job and had to apply the benefits, or moved house and have a new address.

“Under the government’s current proposals, benefit recipients whose circumstances have not changed will start getting letters next summer telling them to apply for universal credit, and that will be a mammoth task, getting millions and millions more people onto universal credit by the current deadline of 2023.

“Introducing a further delay into this benefit would not be unheard of; it is already years behind schedule and there are dozens and dozens of job centres around the country that can only still only accept applications from single claimants.

“The government has, of course, bowed to political pressure in the past over universal credit. In last year’s budget, they spent an extra billion and a half pounds trying to reduce the hardships that people were experiencing at that stage.

“Whether they’ll bow to more political pressure this time will probably not become clear until the end of the month and this year’s budget.”

The BBC has been contacted for comment.

The Department for Work and Pensions is finalising its plans for the next stage of universal credit to take to parliament later this month. Until now, only people making a new application for benefits in certain areas have been able to apply for universal credit.

This next stage – ‘managed migration’ – will see the three million people currently receiving tax credits or benefit payments under the old system sent a letter telling them to re-apply for these payments under Universal Credit.

Each person will have to wait at least five weeks for the first payment, and if people miss the deadline for application, could face having all their payments stopped.

Experts fear this next stage will lead to an increase in foodbank use - and even homelessness - in Rochdale.

https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/122852/universal-credit-rollout-driving-people-to-foodbanks-in-rochdale