The number of people applying for Universal Credit has risen by 1.4 million since the coronavirus crisis began, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey has said.
Last week, Coffey said the number of new Universal Credit claimants had reached more than 1.2 million since March 16, the day Boris Johnson advised “non-essential” travel and contact with others. Today, Coffey told Sky News the figure had reached “about 1.4 million”, and that the government was “capable of processing and managing those claims”.
For more on Universal Credit, read New Statesman’s Britain editor Anoosh Chakelian’s piece on the system’s worst flaws.