The 13th edition of Quids In! Universal Credit Guide is available to order now. The goal for all our materials is to demystify seemingly complex financial issues, and that includes state benefits.
Previous editions of the UC Guide have been in high demand, with more than 300,000 in circulation across the UK. But with policy changes, new earnings thresholds, and the scheduling of migration of long-standing claimants to UC, it’s time for a refresh.
34% of people from 2022 to 2024 have had their benefits stopped as they haven’t taken action once they have received a notification letter.
This edition aims to reach claimants who stand to miss out by failing to act before their legacy payments wind up and those already failing to claim their share of the UK’s £19 billion unclaimed benefit pot, (source: Policy in Practice, Feb 2023).
Pandemic Pain
Almost three million people in the UK were forced on to the benefits system in the first year of the pandemic. Many had never expected to depend on welfare. They experienced first-hand the challenges that millions before them had quietly battled with already.
For those without savings, the challenge was re-organising budgets to live on just a few hundred pounds a month. Delays to payments, (some through human error, some through system error, and some built into the process), heightened financial anxieties. Those who were not online waited hours enduring phoneline hold music. Those without mainstream bank accounts, or accounts mired in overdraft, had to organise new facilities to take receipt of payments.
Reset and Refreshed
The 13th edition of our Universal Credit Guide aims to:
- Encourage those on legacy benefits who have received a migration notice to act now, and not risk losing what they are eligible for – reassure that the process isn’t as daunting as it may seem
- Engage non-claimants to ensure no-one on a low income is missing out
- Reduce delays to (currently) one in five payments by helping claimants get claims right first time
- Remove obstacles to successful on-boarding by promoting the 3 Bs: Appropriate banking facilities, budgeting skills and the benefits of being online
The plain English guide provides fresh, no-nonsense guidance and signposts additional support. Clear headlines and simple messaging are supported with bold images and relatable graphics, like our three avenging comic strip bees representing the 3 Bs (banking, budgeting and being online). Where relevant, we highlight variations in policy and support between Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The guide can also be tailored to a region or housing group, and Quids in! has previously published bespoke guides in collaboration with the London Boroughs of Southwark and Redbridge as well as Swansea Council.
Joining The Dots
Alongside the Guide, our hybrid service can help new and existing claimants anywhere in the UK to ensure that they are maximising their income, getting all the benefits they are owed, and have more coming in than going out. We offer several levels of our ‘Money Health Check’ service, but those who participate in our programmes are on average £1224 a year better off. For more information about how and our local Quids In! Centre teams, click here.
Trusted, Valued and Practical
Trust is fundamental to sharing advice, triggering change and engendering self-help. One reader wrote and told us:
A neighbour came to me in tears. The Jobcentre said he wasn’t entitled to help through Universal Credit. I knew it wasn’t true because I was getting it, so I showed him your Guide and he took it in and showed them. They realised they’d got it wrong and now he’s getting all he’s due.
To enquire about purchasing the Guide please contact lisa.woodman@cleanslateltd.co.uk
or call 07548 627303
