Government outlines how it intends to advise universal credit claimants about the end of the £20 uplift

Work and Pensions Minister says that communications will be issued 'over the Summer' making it clear that the uplift will no longer be included in the claimant's standard allowance from the Autumn

The government has outlined how it intends to advise universal credit claimants about the end of the £20 uplift from October 2021.

Confirming reports that claimants were receiving notifications from 23 July 2021 via their online journal account, the DWP has published a letter recently sent to the chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee Stephen Timms in which Work and Pensions Minister Will Quince advises -

'The first communication will be done tomorrow (23rd July) by updating claimant statements, notifying them of how much of their standard allowance is a result of the temporary uplift that has been provided in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

We will do further communications with claimants over the Summer via their statement and journal messages ahead of the uplift ending in the Autumn, making it clear that it will no longer be included in their standard allowance. The way the journal system works is that by default it triggers a notification alert to claimants via email or text, depending on their preferred method of communication.

As the Secretary of State made clear at the Select Committee we are not writing letters to claimants.'

Mr Quince's letter to the chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee (22 July 2021) is available from parliament.uk