Interim government response to SSAC report on the effectiveness of the Claimant Commitment in Universal Credit — September 2019
Updated 9 September 2021
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This interim response was published on 9 September 2019.
The full government response to this report was published on 9 September 2021.
1. The government welcomes the Occasional Paper No.21, following the committee’s study into the effectiveness of the Universal Credit Claimant Commitment.
2. Conditionality has been a feature of benefit entitlement in the UK since the formation of the welfare state. Claimants on work-related benefits are generally expected to undertake certain activities in return for financial support through the benefit system. The Claimant Commitment is a key part of conditionality, recording work-related requirements so the claimant is clear what they need to do to move towards work and satisfy their conditionality to be eligible for Universal Credit.
3. The Claimant Commitment aims to motivate claimants to engage with the support on offer to look actively for work, and thereby to move into work, while ensuring the system is fair to the taxpayer.
4. As part of the continuous development and improvement of the Universal Credit Claimant Commitment a number of improvements suggested by the committee have already been introduced. Further enhancements are planned for 2019 to 2020 incorporating feedback and findings from claimants and our broad range of stakeholders.
5. We will include additional work based on the Social Security Advisory Committee’s findings and recommendations as part of this programme and the announcement of the latest Spending Review allocations will have an impact on that.
6. As such, the government thanks the committee for its recommendations and wishes to give these full consideration, so will look to respond in the autumn of 2019.