This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Rejected petition Remove the 9 month Benefit Cap grace period from Universal Credit claims
During these unprecedented times, suspend and remove the 9 month Benefit Cap grace period from all Universal Credit Claims.
Example - A 2 adult + 2 children UC payment was reduced by 28% in Jan 2021 after reaching the end of the grace period, leaving £256 for the month after paying moderate rent
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Child poverty is high, job opportunities are low. To continue with standard UC procedures during these unprecedented times, is ruthless and unnecessary.
For those who have been assessed as 'Gainfully Self Employed', consumer work opportunities and yearly turnover have been vastly reduced due to ongoing Coronavirus social distancing and recurring lockdowns.
Example - A wedding photographer who is usually employed for 8+ hours, can only attend 15 person micro weddings now.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action.
Your petition raises concerns about impact of the benefit cap after the current 9-month grace period expires, but your petition calls for this grace period to be remove, which would mean the benefit cap applied to all claims from day one.
We could accept a petition calling for the benefit cap to be abolished, or suspended, for Universal Credit or all benefits, but you would need to be clear what changes you want to be made to this cap.
We have published the following petition, which you might like to sign:
Suspend the benefit cap for people who have been forced out of work by Covid-19: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/555877
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.