Not Started and Unfinished Claims to Universal Credit (UC Hesitancy Research)
The aim of this research is to better understand the non-claimant population, why they don’t claim Universal Credit (UC), the financial and non-financial impact this has on them, and to understand the issues and barriers that prevent them from claiming.
Documents
Details
This research involved a quantitative survey and two stages of qualitative in-depth interviews. The quantitative strand of this research included online or telephone surveys with 4,243 participants who had either dropped out of making a Universal Credit (UC) claim, were currently in receipt of legacy benefits or were eligible for UC but had not made a UC claim.
The survey was conducted between November and December 2021. The qualitative phases of this research included 5 in-depth interviews conducted in October 2022 with third party organisations involved in supporting people who are likely to be claiming or entitled to UC and 50 follow-up in-depth interviews conducted in January and February 2022 with survey participants who had agreed to be recontacted.
The research focused on the following:
- the background of non-claimants including their household composition, financial and employment situation, attitudes towards work, digital competency and internet access
- perceptions of UC and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and reasons for not claiming UC or for dropping out during the claim process
- support to overcome barriers to claiming UC as well as wider support needs including employment and financial support and organisations/people they’d trust to provide support
Contribution to the evidence base
This research contributes to the body of evidence on Universal Credit that can be used to inform Policy and Programme decisions in the future.
Research value
Findings from this research will help inform Universal Credit policy decisions by allowing the department to understand non-claimants and the barriers that prevent them from claiming.