Universal credit is so riddled with design flaws and process faults that it is practically guaranteed to generate mistakes and delays pushing vulnerable claimants into hardship, according to whistleblowers. Service centre workers told the Guardian that glitches in the 'cobbled-together' system have commonly delayed benefit payments for weeks or wrongly reduced them by hundreds of pounds.
One whistleblower said: 'The IT system on which universal credit is built is so fundamentally broken and poorly designed that it guarantees severe problems with claims.' He added that the system was overcomplex and prone to errors affecting payments, often proving slow to correct. Mistakes and delays can add an average of three weeks to the formal 35-day wait for an initial payment, pushing claimants into debt, rent arrears, and reliance on food banks.
Campaigners warn problems could worsen next year when over 3 million claimants are 'migrated' to the new system. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) came under fire last week from a cross-party group of MPs accusing it of a 'culture of indifference' after ignoring warnings that led to 70,000 disabled claimants being underpaid an estimated £500m over six years.
Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey admitted there were problems with universal credit and promised to listen to campaigners and frontline staff. One whistleblower said many design problems stemmed from a failure to understand claimants' needs, especially those lacking digital skills and internet access. 'We are punishing claimants for not understanding a system that is not built with them in mind,' he said.
The DWP said it would not comment on specific claims but insisted the system was being constantly improved. 'Universal credit is a flexible and responsive benefit and we continue to listen to feedback and make any necessary improvements during the rollout with our test-and-learn approach,' a spokesperson said. However, whistleblowers argue that the system remains fundamentally flawed.
