Projects

The impacts of Universal Credit: Researching people’s experiences of claiming and living on Universal Credit

What is this research about?

The research aims to understand:

• What it’s like getting started on Universal Credit
• What it’s like to live on Universal Credit
• What effects Universal Credit has on people’s lives, health and wellbeing
• How Universal Credit affects people over time
• How experiences differ between Northern England and Scotland

This research is being carried out across Tyne and Wear and the Glasgow city region and hopes to involve about 80 people who are claiming Universal Credit.

Who is doing and funding the research?

This research is part of an Evaluation of the health impacts of Universal Credit: a mixed methods study, which is a 5-year programme of work funded by the National Institute for Health Research.

The team doing this research are local researchers from Newcastle, Northumbria and Glasgow Universities. The team do not work for the DWP or any services that give advice or support to people claiming Universal Credit. Dr Marcia Gibson will be talking to people in Glasgow city region, and Dr Steph Morris will be talking to people in Tyne and Wear.

This part of the research is led by Professor Clare Bambra and Professor Suzanne Moffatt at Newcastle University.

Why is this research important?

We will be sharing our findings with policy makers and local and national decision makers. We hope that the findings will raise awareness of the impacts of Universal Credit and that they will be influential in shaping the way that Universal Credit works in the future.