Angela backs petition calling for UC split payments.

Angela Crawley has backed an on-line petition to address one of the major problems of the current Universal Credit (UC) roll out – namely the UK government’s insistence on payments to a single household bank account, which ‘makes women more financially vulnerable’.

Angela recently called on the Government to end the practice – still part of the Universal Credit roll out. As it stands UC is, as a rule, only paid into one bank account per recipient household and there are real concerns this could keep women, and to a lesser extent men, trapped in abusive relationships.

In addition, paying the combined benefits of a couple into a single bank account could prevent funds reaching their intended beneficiaries, such as partners and children.

Commenting, Angela said:

‘’While I welcome the Government’s consultation on domestic abuse, it is undermined by their own policies. It is a total disgrace that the Tories are simply ignoring a problem that could be easily fixed – and would make such a difference if it was. This part of the shambolic Universal Credit roll out is putting vulnerable women and children in danger.

‘’Charities such as Women’s Aid, Surviving Economic Abuse, Women’s Budget Group and CPAG have been calling for split payments.

“I am backing an online Westminster petition and would encourage people to sign this, and to feed into the Government’s Domestic Abuse consultation, to ensure that we can finally get movement from the Tory Government on this issue.

“Financial dependence and control isolates women from their friends, family and support networks, so I have been calling on the UK Government to make split payments the default.

“The UK Government keep claiming claim their ‘Alternative Payment Arrangements,’ which allow abused partners to apply for split payments in exceptional circumstances, deals with this issue but 85% of domestic abuse survivors, who spoke to the charity Women’s Aid, said that the act of applying for split payments would anger their partner and make the abuse worse.

“The prime minister should right this wrong and end the terrible choice some women are forced to make, between poverty and abuse.’