We attended a meeting of representatives from SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association) to introduce our work and the role of Healthwatch, and to hear their comments, issues and concerns.
Key findings
Several members of the group raised concerns about the way that universal credit is processed and these are detailed in this report. Others noted problems incurred by long waits for Occupational Therapy assessments.
Universal Credit processing often results in customers being up to 7 weeks in arrears by the time the first payment is received.
We heard concern from case workers that new claims from April 2017 of Universal Credit will be limited to only two children which will leave larger families worse off.
From April 2017 couples consisting of one person of working age and one person who has retired will see changes that could mean the couple will be significantly worse off. This is because a change in procedure means only the younger working age partner will be able to claim which will result in other pension benefits not being received.
Case workers for SSAFA reported that there is a 3 month wait for occupational therapy assessments.
This report was produced by the previous Healthwatch Somerset service provider, The Care Forum.
Read our report
If you need this report in a different format, please email info@healthwatchsomerset.co.uk or call 0800 999 1286.