Bright Blue, the independent think tank for liberal conservatism, responds to the Government’s legislative plans enabling work coaches to allow discretionary suspensions of the Minimum Income Floor for self-employed Universal Credit claimants.
Commenting, Anvar Sarygulov, Senior Research Fellow at Bright Blue, said:
“The Government has rightly introduced the ability for work coaches to suspend the Minimum Income Floor for self-employed Universal Credit claimants for up to two months at a time, with a total limit of six months, in addition to the existing 12 month start-up grace period. But this flexibility should be made permanent, continuing beyond the pandemic. Even in normal times, many self-employed workers with an established and viable business can face significant income volatility and short suspensions can help them through periods of difficulty.”
In Helping Hand? Improving Universal Credit, Bright Blue proposed providing an additional 12 months of exemption from the Minimum Income Floor that can be claimed by a self-employed Universal Credit claimant at any point in their lifetime in addition to the existing 12 month start-up grace period, after approval from their work coach.
