BrowsePetitions#711597
PETITIONClosedPetition · petition.parliament.uk

Change the ‘whole month’ approach to change of circumstances in Universal Credit

If a change in circumstance occurs at any point in the Universal Credit assessment period it counts for the whole month - which we think is unfair.

Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
54
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 54/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 54/100,000
Background
It can mean people receive less than they had expected and budgeted for. We think any changes in entitlement should be pro-rata. For example if a child stops being a child 3 days before assessment period ends, the claimant is told they owe money for the whole month due to this change - not just the 3 days the child had stopped being a child. We feel the Government may push people in debt with this policy. We think it would be better if the Government calculated entitlement to the day.