POLICY PLEDGES:

  • The transition of claimants to Universal Credit will be suspended until changes have been made to some of the principles, processes and administration of UC to mitigate negative impacts to claimants, taxpayers and businesses. Instead new claims will continue to be supported by legacy benefits.
  • For existing UC claimants, we will reinstate direct payments of Housing Element to landlords, reduce the earnings taper, introduce partial upfront payment on claim, introduce less frequent assessment periods for the self-employed and make further changes to eliminate areas of the system causing delay and hardship.
  • We will replace technocratic decisions on sanctions to shelter the vulnerable while targeting persistent offenders.
  • We will strengthen the contributory element principle in unemployment benefits, rewarding those who have a history of work and paying in to the system.
  • Launch a Citizens’ Bank to safeguard vulnerable adults by assisting essential payments (utilities, housing) and by improving access to cheapest tariffs while helping businesses improve rates of collection.
  • We will create Community Hubs at Local Authority level to improve access to multidisciplinary social services saving claimants time and cost while increasing the efficiency and knowledge of welfare services.
  • National Insurance ID Cards will be issued to all citizens.

Do you agree that people who have been unemployed long‑term should be required to work on civic projects to continue receiving benefits?

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