MBL: Coronavirus and Universal Credit
Money Box
BBC
4.2 • 825 Ratings
🗓️ 22 July 2020
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
If you're claiming benefits for the first time because of coronavirus, what’s your experience? Millions of people who have lost their jobs or their income since lockdown, are having to apply for Universal Credit for the first time to help meet basic living costs. But how much do you get and how long before the money comes through? Join Paul Lewis and a panel of benefits experts offering advice on how to claim, what you might get and how to avoid pitfalls. Email your questions and stories to moneybox@bbc.co.uk or tweet @moneybox
Guests: Anna Stevenson, Welfare benefits expert, Turn2Us Will Hadwen, Working Families Gary Martin, Welfare benefits specialist at Brixton Advice Centre
Producer: Sally Abrahams Editor: Emma Rippon
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy. |
| 0:05.4 | My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:10.8 | The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that. |
| 0:17.5 | With music on sounds, we offer collections and mixes for everything, from workouts to |
| 0:22.4 | helping you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put |
| 0:28.3 | together by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life, |
| 0:35.0 | check out BBC Sounds. |
| 0:41.3 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:49.0 | Around 3 million people have claimed the means-tested benefit universal credit since COVID-19 began to destroy jobs and livelihoods. It's what the government says you should do if you're |
| 0:53.8 | excluded from other schemes |
| 0:55.0 | or you have no other source of income. Over the next three months, government support for |
| 0:59.7 | businesses and self-employed people is being phased out. So many more will be out of work, |
| 1:04.5 | and many of them will have to claim universal credit. So today, MoneyBots Live answers your questions |
| 1:10.0 | about it. How much is it? What about savings? |
| 1:12.6 | How do you actually claim it, especially if you don't have a computer at home? Why do couples have to |
| 1:17.3 | claim together? How do you challenge your decision? And if you do get it, how can you live on the money |
| 1:22.3 | you're given? Just some of the many questions you've raised and we'll cover some of those today. |
| 1:26.7 | You can email Moneybox at bbc'll cover some of those today you can email |
| 1:27.7 | moneybox at bbc.co.uk or you can tweet us at moneybox and i have three top experts to give |
| 1:35.3 | answers and advice but before we hear from them let's hear from you jan is in herifiture jan what's |
| 1:40.5 | your experience oh good afternoon my My experience on universal credit and self-employed income support scheme, |
| 1:51.6 | it started, of course, with the income support scheme because I'm self-employed. |
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