• Adapting services and reallocating resources in order to meet new demand for Universal Credit during the pandemic
• Increasing the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element for 2021-21 by £20 a week during the Covid-19 pandemic
• Introducing measures to facilitate social distancing and supporting those who need to isolate or shield by changing Statutory Sick Pay, sickness and carer benefits
• Providing support to private renters claiming Universal Credit or Housing Benefit through an increase in the Local Housing Allowance rates
• Changing the way that the DWP recovers Universal Credit advances from October 2021

• Improving the online application process for people who lack digital literacy, especially people in vulnerable groups
• Sustaining the timeliness of first payments for new claimants while not compromising on accuracy
• Assessing and reporting on the impact of the temporary suspension of some debt repayments and the impact on households
• Reviewing the Advances system and considering what changes are needed to make it more flexible and react quickly to meet claimants’ needs

• Ella - Disability benefits assessment processes and why they need fundamental reform
• Ella - Increasing the income of people claiming legacy benefits who have been denied the £20 a week payment that those on Universal Credit have seen
• Caroline – changing claimant experiences over time
• Caroline – refocussing priorities

• Using data on employment status, local authority area of residents, psychological distress and confounding variables
• Investigating whether the introduction of Universal Credit in an area was associated with an increase of mental health problems among eligible unemployed people
• Analysing the prevalence of psychological distress among those eligible for Universal Credit compared to a comparison group of people not affected by the policy change
• Measuring the impact of the adverse health effects of Universal Credit for the NHS, social care and the welfare system
• Assessing the costs and benefits of new welfare policies taking into account potential adverse health effects

• Establishing a new agency within two years to manage social security benefits for the people of Scotland
• Focussing on the needs of citizens to define new processes and technology and create a system that can support future growth
• Engaging with users and stakeholder groups at every stage of development of services
• Launching a modern, flexible platform to deliver benefits and ensuring that the services is designed for the people who use it
• Developing a wide variety of communications channels in a range of formats to make communications easily accessible for everyone

• Ensuring that schemes are broad to allow for the provision of a range of items including emergency food and fuel support
• Considering the most appropriate delivery mechanisms for support to address the need for a swift response to increasing demand
• Maximising dignity, autonomy and choice
• Raising awareness through a diverse range of channels to reach the most vulnerable households
• An insight into the review of how poverty interventions are going to change in the future

  
  

An overview of recent JRF work on tackling poverty, including

• Analysing the poverty, work and social security trends before and during the coronavirus outbreak
• The need to not cut £20 per week from Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit from October and the need to increase benefits for families on legacy benefits such as Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance
• Shifting public thinking to view a poverty-reducing social security system as an essential public service that receives sustainable investment
• Addressing the causes of unaffordable housing and the conditions that lead to renters falling into arrears because they are struggling to meet their housing costs
• The importance of hearing the voice of lived experience
• Building back better for everyone with a comprehensive package of policies spanning the labour market, social security and the housing market to support people to get out of poverty