政府研究所：2026年普遍信用15年的故事：从灾难到完成报告（英文版）

By the end of March 2026, almost all recipients of income-related Employment and Support Allowance will have been transferred on to Universal Credit. At some point later in the year the final cases will follow and ESA will be shut down. That moment will mark the completion of a hugely ambitious programme to merge six working-age means-tested benefits – the six being Jobseeker’s Allowance and ESA, Income Support, Housing Benefit and the Child and Working Tax Credits. It will have taken 15 year