Universal Credit cost Highland Council £2.5 million since roll-out

Freedom of Information requests show Highland Council has incurred additional costs of £2,425,000 directly attributable to Universal Credit.

SNP MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, Drew Hendry, is calling for the UK Government to reimburse Highland Council for the full amount.

Mr Hendry has written to Esther McVey, Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions, to demand that the UK Government settle the debt with the Highland Council.

Information obtained from a Freedom of Information request also showed that from 2016 to 2018, the Highland Council spent £669,719 to administer Universal Credit, yet only received £244,962 from the UK Government to meet these costs, leaving the Council to fill the financial gap of £424,747.

Figures also show that more than half of the Council’s £2,511,710 in rent arrears is directly attributable to people claiming Universal Credit, with the Council burdened with the cost of rent arrears, due to lengthy waits people must endure to get their Universal Credit payments.

Drew Hendry, SNP MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, said:

'These Freedom of Information figures have highlighted a shocking situation, showing that the roll-out of Universal Credit has already cost the Highland Council nearly £2.5 million of its own funding.

'Day in, day out, Highland Council staff have to deal with a system littered with inefficiencies, and a host of process failures - costing, not only more time for officers, but lots more money from the Councils budget.

'In addition to meeting administration costs, the Highland Council is also having to burden the cost of rent arrears which have shot through the roof because of the length of time people and landlords have to wait for payments. It simply cannot go on.

'I’ve written to the Secretary of State to demand that this debt is paid to the Highland Council and to seek a commitment from the UK Government to meet all future costs associated with this shambolic rollout of Universal Credit.

'I regularly speak of the devastation that Universal Credit continues to cause many of my constituents trying to navigate the system, and these figures show the impact isn’t just felt by those in receipt of Universal Credit, but by every single Highland resident.

'With nearly 14,000 people across the Highlands still to be transferred over to Universal Credit, this bill is going to continue to rise. The Highland Council cannot continue to burden these costs, which are entirely of the UK Government’s making.

'If the Secretary of State wishes to retain any shred of credibility, she must act now – settle the debt with the Highland Council and commit to meet future costs associated with this failed project.'