Why the benefit used by over 8 million people may not be fit for the future

Why the benefit used by over 8 million people may not be fit for the future 1 hour ago Share Save Michael Buchanan Social affairs correspondent Share Save BBC Few revolutions have been seeded in Easterhouse. Situated in the east end of Glasgow, the area was, at one point, a case study in how not to build new housing developments. Built as part of Glasgow's vast post‑war housing scheme, the area saw poor‑quality homes erected with few shops or transport links, and by the 1970s and 1980s it was weighed down by boredom, alcohol and hopelessness. Gang violence flourished. But on a dreary February day in 2002, a visit to Easterhouse by the Conservative leader at the time, Iain Duncan Smith, was to ignite a generational overhaul of the welfare system that still resonates today. The change that was set in motion during that visit would later become Universal Credit, a benefit that now supports more than eight million people. Duncan Smith's basic idea was to make work pay, to incentivise people into a job. Easterhouse is situated in the east end of Glasgow But as the rollout of the benefit finally nears completion over the next few weeks, albeit nine years behind schedule and hundreds of millions of pounds over budget, the questions the welfare system now struggles with are different. For example, there are now 700,000 graduates unemployed and claiming benefits — an increase of more than 200,000 - or 46% - since 2019, according to the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ). …