In a revised impact assessment of its universal credit scheme, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) says that around 3.1m households will have higher entitlement as a result of universal credit. The DWP suggests around 1.9m households seeing an increase in entitlement of more than £100 per month.
However, the DWP add –
'In the longer-term approximately 2.8m households will have notionally lower entitlement than they otherwise would have done as a result of universal credit, although the majority of these will have a reduction of less than £100 per month. The average reduction in entitlement for this group is estimated to be £137 per month.'
That compares with a figure of 2 million announced in October 2011 after officials first considered how the changes would affect claimants.
The sums are substantial. About 800,000 households will see an average loss of £137 a month, while the 300,000 hardest hit families will lose as much as £300 a month. About 200,000 lone parents will also receive lower awards under the new scheme than the current system.