Dr Chris O'Leary on the Budget changes around Universal Credit

MetroPolis member Dr Chris O'Leary discusses Universal Credit and Budget 2018 in 'Good Chancellor, but not good enough on Universal Credit'

The interview resulted in an two articles in the Financial Times.

These can be found and read (with subscription) here and here.

Chris is a specialist in public policy and is a senior lecturer in the Policy Evaluation and Research Unit. He is responsible for managing a number of research projects, providing leadership on the design and delivery of research and evaluation projects around public sector reform and its impact on social policy design, implementation and delivery. He manages projects that involve multidisciplinary teams (often in collaboration with academics and practitioners within and outside PERU) and mixed methods research methods. Much of his work before joining PERU was around modelling need and demand in terms of multiple needs, prevention and integration of services. Chris also teaches on social policy and evidence-based policy within the Department of Sociology. Chris had a successful career as a civil servant and in applied policy research before he entered academia in 2010. 

Read more on Chris O'Leary's comment and analysis on Good Chancellor, but not good enough on Universal Credit in Metropolis here.

"There has been much speculation over the last week that the Chancellor would use yesterday’s Budget to bring some much needed good news for families in receipt of Universal Credit, the Government’s flagship welfare reform. Introduced by Iain Duncan-Smith as a means to simplify and refocus working age benefits, Universal Credit replaced six very complex benefits, introducing a single payment made directly to claimants, whether or not they are in work. The aim was to reduce administration costs, make it easier for families to navigate the system, and incentivise people into work. While great in theory, Universal Credit has been hampered with problems from the outset, and has been causing significant issues in recent months. The roll out of Universal Credit is now six years behind the original schedule, and has cost considerably more than originally planned."