The impact of Universal Credit on the self-employed

On 20 November 2018 the London Assembly Economy Committee met to look at the impact of Universal Credit on self-employed Londoners. Zoe Charlesworth, Head of Policy, and Dr Ben Fell, Senior Analyst, Policy in Practice, gave evidence to the committee. Policy in Practice has previously presented evidence on the impact of Universal Credit on the volatility of self-employed earnings, and the introduction of the surplus earnings provisions under Universal Credit. For this analysis we concentrated on other impacts; household income, the 2018 budget provision, and the opportunity for targeting of support to affected households. This briefing note summarises some of the key points presented to committee members.

November 2018