Universal Credit and Travel to Work Distance

The request was successful.

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

It has been reported that every recipient of Universal Credit will, without exception, be required to commute for up to three hours a day to work or forfeit benefit.

(1)

Does this condition apply only to full-time workers (who may earn enough wages to be able to afford substantial travel costs associated with such a long commute) or ALL WORKERS, including part-time workers, who may not be able to earn enough money to be able to afford the travel costs associated with such a journey?

(2)

Does this condition apply to part-time carers who do want to work locally, part-time or possibly full-time, but cannot be separated from the person (or people) that they care for for extended periods associated with full-time work at a distance, e.g., 3 hours travel + 8 hours work + 1 hour lunch break = 12 hours in toto?

(3)

Will the condition apply to single parents, forcing them to abandon their children for up to twelve or more hours per day?

If this condition is strictly enforced I foresee many personal and undeserved personal catastrophes occurring as low paid people are compelled to travel further than their wages can feasibly permit, part-time carers of the sick and elderly and single parents torn from the people or children that they care with unimaginable hardship and misery developing for worthy and completely innocent minorities for no good reason.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

Derek Brown

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DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

1 Attachment

Dear Derek Brown

Please see attached letter of acknowledgement of your FoI request.

Kind regards

DWP Central FoI Team

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DWP Strategy Freedom of Information, Department for Work and Pensions

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Dear Derek Brown,

Please see the attached response to your Freedom of Information request.

Many thanks,

DWP Central FoI Team
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