Almost 950,000 people have applied for Universal Credit in the past fortnight during the coronavirus outbreak. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said it had seen a surge in benefits claims, with almost 950,000 new claims since March 16 - up from around 100,000 in a normal two-week period.
Around a quarter, 70,000 out of around 270,000 Universal Credit applications in one week, applied for an advance payment. It comes as one charity warned that advance payments must be given as grants, not loans, to prevent a "coronavirus debt crisis".
Claimants wait five weeks for a first payment after applying for the benefit but can take out an advance loan to help during this time.But the Salvation Army said this could plunge thousands of