“It’s a £20 sort of thing”: the dehumanizing impacts of Universal Credit and the end of the ‘uplift’

Abstract

UC is a distinctive form of working-age means-tested social security which replaces the Legacy system encompassing Income Support (IS), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA), Housing Benefit (HB), Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Working Tax Credit (WTC). Thus, UC is accessed by people in and out of work (including those seeking work or not fit for work) at any working age. The £20 a week increase applied to the standard allowance of UC and Working Tax Credits (WTC), therefore excluding those still accessing the Legacy system.