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<p><del class="ministerial">As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear,
the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and
we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the
right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation
under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The
Government has been clear in its commitment to support those affected in these difficult
times and we have made a number of changes to the welfare system in the past fortnight
to ensure people are receiving the support they need. These changes include increasing
the standard allowance of Universal Credit and working tax credit for this year by
over £1000 a year.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We have also increased the
Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so
that it covers the cheapest third of local rents – which is on average £600 in people’s
pockets. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We are also temporarily relaxing the
application of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for all self-employed claimants affected
by the economic impact of COVID-19 to ensure that the self-employed can access UC
at a more generous rate.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Together, these measures
represent an injection of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system.</ins></p><p><ins
class="ministerial">New Claims Advances are available to support those in immediate
financial need until their first Universal Credit payment is made and the Department
is committed to delivering advances as soon as possible to people who have requested
them.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Universal Credit assessment period
and payment structure are fundamental parts of the design and the current advance
system works, and works quickly.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">It is not possible
to award a Universal Credit payment as soon as a claim is made, as the assessment
period must run its course before the award of Universal Credit can be calculated.
In order to allow the Universal Credit system to cope with the unprecedented demand,
we must limit the changes made to its framework.</ins></p>
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