Livingston MP Hannah Bardell urges end to five-week wait for Universal Credit

Hannah Bardell says the current system of loans under Universal Credit is "a vicious cycle of debt".

LIVINGSTON SNP MP Hannah Bardell has hit out at the “callous” Universal Credit system after figures revealed some of Scotland’s poorest families were forced to pay back £9 million in just one month.

The Department for Work and Pensions said £8.99m was clawed back from Universal Credit recipients in Scotland last August, £4.69m of it to repay loans given to cover basic living costs for the five weeks they had to wait before their first Universal Credit payment.

In her own constituency, a total of £190,000 in deductions included £107,000 advance payment deductions.

Ms Bardell said: “In Scotland, almost £9 million is taken out of people’s pockets a month, leaving too many of our citizens relying on the support of food banks.

"It is clear the DWP advance payment system simply doesn’t work and the UK welfare system is broken.

“We need to press the UK government to build a social security system fit for purpose, starting with scrapping the five-week wait and introducing the first payment within the first two weeks of a claim without the need to pay it back. The current system is a vicious circle of debt.”