Brits claiming housing benefit and moving onto Universal Credit get extra two weeks of rent support
BIG changes to housing benefit will hit Brits this week as they go from getting their payments fortnightly to monthly.
But anyone who is moving onto Universal Credit will get an extra two weeks of rent support from this week, it has been announced.
From today claimants who get help with their rents will go from getting their benefit paid fortnightly to monthly, but there will be a two week transition period to help them adjust.
The extra help, which is worth £550million, is because it's a "big change" to Brits', the Work and Pensions Secretary has said.
Esther McVey said today: ";We understand that moving onto Universal Credit can be a big change for those used to the previous benefits system - especially the monthly payment, designed to reflect the world of work.
"So this week, extra rent support is being made available to allow people to adjust from fortnightly Housing Benefit payments to monthly Universal Credit ones."
At the start of this month more benefits will be replaced by which will roll child tax credit, income support and jobseekers' payments into one.
The Government had said that three million working households would see cash gains from Universal Credit.
Ms McVey added: "Universal Credit ensures it pays to take on extra hours of work, and provides additional employment support to not only help get you into a job but also progress up the career ladder."
The news comes just after ministers u-turned on cutting housing benefit to all 18 - 21 year-olds, and said they would reinstate it.
The handout was taken away from school leavers as part of David Cameron's plans to shake up the system and encourage young people into work.
But Ms McVey pulled a surprise U-turn on it just a week ago after coming under pressure from homeless charities.
The controversial policy to return the cash to up to 11,000 new Universal Benefit claimants a year is estimated to cost taxpayers as much as £100m, though DWP officials insist the figures are far smaller.
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At the end of 2017 it was announced that Universal Credit claimants would only face a wait of five weeks, as opposed to six - which came in last month
This came in response to the outcry from claimants who said they were struggling to make ends meet.
And the news was announced just days after it was revealed that thousands of Universal Credit claimants are losing 40 per cent of their benefits to debt repayments.