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<p>There are many reasons people use foodbanks and agreement that growth in the use
of foodbanks cannot be attributed solely to Universal Credit.</p><p>Under Universal
Credit no claimant has to wait for their money: advances of up to 100 per cent of
their award are available to all claimants from day one of their claim. Advances are
paid back over a period of 12 months and in the Autumn Budget 2018, we announced that
from October 2021, the payback period for these advances will be extended further,
up to 16 months. This is just one of a number of measures the Department has put in
place to support claimants, such as paying those claimants moving from Housing Benefit
onto Universal Credit a two week ‘transitional housing payment’. We are also introducing
a two-week run on for eligible claimants of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance
and Employment and Support Allowance from July 2020.</p>
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