More people are now applying for emergency cash help as the number of benefit sanctions go up.
New figures show there’s been a rise in the number of people claiming DWP hardship payments. The increase follows a spike in benefit sanctions, forcing many claimants to request emergency funds to cover essential costs.
According to OpenDemocracy, the DWP made a total of 74,200 hardship payments in the first five months of 2022. During the same period of 2019, 40,400 such payments were issued - amounting to an increase of more than 80% in three years, reports Birmingham Live.
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The increase in demand for hardship payments follows a sharp rise in the number of benefit sanctions being issued to claimants. But what exactly are hardship payments, how much money do you receive and who can get them? We have explained the process below.
What are Universal Credit hardship payments?
Universal Credit hardship payments are emergency payments intended to help benefit claimants cover basic living expenses if they have been sanctioned - in other words, whose benefits have been reduced or stopped. They can be used to pay for such necessities as food, heating and rent.
Who’s eligible for hardship payments?
To qualify for hardship payments, you must be a Universal Credit claimant aged 18 or over - or 16 if sanctioned because of fraud - and either you or your partner must have been sanctioned. You must also be struggling to meet your own basic needs or those of a child or young person you’re responsible for as a result of the sanction.
Before you get a hardship payment, the DWP will expect you to have made every effort to cut non-essential spending. It will also expect you to seek financial assistance from other sources, including friends and family, councils, and local authorities.
In addition, you will be expected to have completed all the work-related activities you’ve been set in the seven days before your application for a hardship payment. You will need to provide evidence of all this when you apply.
How much are hardship payments worth?
Universal Credit hardship payments are worth around 60% of the amount by which your benefit payments have been reduced. Hardship payments are only paid for several days, so if you need hardship payments beyond that point, you’ll need to reapply.
Do you have to pay hardship payments back?
Hardship payments are effectively a loan, and so they will usually need to be repaid. The money will be automatically deducted from future Universal Credit payments until the outstanding debt is paid off.
How to claim Universal Credit hardship payments
You can make a claim for a Universal Credit hardship payment at your local jobcentre or by calling the Universal Credit helpline on 0800 328 5644 (or textphone 0800 328 1344). The helpline is available between 8am and 6pm from Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.
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