Northumberland council chiefs 'cannot say' if there is a link between universal credit and i

The latest report, which was sparked by a request from Coun Scott Dickinson, concluded: ‘As we do not have access to the individual claimant-level data on universal credit, we cannot say that there is a link between it and these increases in need. ‘However, it is clear that since the date when universal credit was launched, we have seen some increase in the number of cases that are being managed using the higher levels of intervention, ie CPPs and LAC (looked-after children). This was not as apparent in the summer as it is now.

Coun Dickinson, Labour’s deputy leader, was disappointed with what was presented, while accepting some of it was to do with the fact that the council didn’t have access to the relevant data. “I know people think it was political, but it was about trying to separate the general CPP requirements and those that are linked to short-term pressures because of the roll-out of a new policy,” he added. Full Story Click Here