Universal Credit: Please Enter Your Password

The UK Government has, as is well known, announced its intention to introduce Universal Credit. While, in theory, streamlining benefits makes them easier to access, imagining this in reality is somewhat harder.

It appears to me that benefits application are likely become even more impersonal; all applications will be made and managed online, except in the "'minority" of special cases which will be allowed to be dealt with over the phone. A government report (http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/universal-credit-chapter4.pdf) says the service will provide "focused help for those unable to use online channels". I am interested to know what 'focused' means, and am inclined to suspect that it means underfunded and difficult to access. Face to face access to benefits is for those "who really need it", but it is unclear what this means.

 So it seems that the only way you can claim benefits face to face is if you are deemed as having a special need. I am interested to find out if low literacy levels and difficulties with English will be considered here. Those who have trouble understanding the system may make mistakes/insert incorrect information which is then problematic to adjust, thus affecting their entitlement. If online choices are of the 'multiple choice' variety, how well will these options reflect the reality of people's experiences?

Claimants will of course be able to meet their advisors when they sign on, but it is likely that any problems experienced with benefits will be difficult and time-consuming to rectify, particularly if a large part of decision making is done automatically using technology. The report provides more detail: "Recipients will report significant changes of circumstance online. For changes of circumstance such as moving into work, losing a job, having a child or becoming sick, in most cases there will be an automatic re-assessment, providing a faster and more reliable experience than at present."

 I wonder how easy it will be to reverse decisions once they have been made automatically using online channels.

 Many people find using computers stressful and time consuming. To suggest that it is quicker than speaking to someone face to face suggests a bias on the part of the writers of this report. For someone who types slowly, does not understand the words being used, and/or has difficulty using a computer, this will not be an easier route.

 Online benefit management may be extremely useful to some people and much more convenient than being put on hold for lengthy periods of time. However, reducing alternative channels of communication does not 'improve' access; it restricts it.

 I would like to know; will there be a helpline for those who do not understand the online system? Or an IT support line? Will benefits become administered by IT technicians, rather than trained benefits advisors?

Gemma Cantlow is a Comparative Literature graduate from King's College, University of London. She has worked as a Project Worker with ex-homeless 16-25 year olds since 2003 and is currently training to be a Secondary English teacher.