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Universal Credit claimants have been blocked from claiming the benefit because they are unable to prove their identity, a report has shown.

A new investigation by The National Audit Office (NAO) found two thirds of people had been locked out of Universal Credit claims because of ID issues.

The Government runs a digital programme called Verify - but the NAO has dubbed it a failure.

People sign up for Verify to prove their identities, so they can securely access online Government services, mostly during claims for Universal Credit .

Others sign up for reasons such as to claim a tax refund or renew a driving licence.

The NAO report found Verify’s performance has "consistently been below the standards initially set, and take-up among the public and departments has been much lower than expected."

It had been predicted that 25 million Brits would be using Verify by March 2020.

But only 3.6 million people have managed to sign up for the service by February 2019. It's forecast that 5.4 million users will have signed up by 2020.

The NAO said: "Some Government service users, such as Universal Credit claimants, have experienced problems.

"However, most claimants cannot even use Verify to apply for Universal Credit .

"Only 38 per cent of Universal Credit claimants can successfully verify their identity online (of the 70 per cent of claimants that attempt to sign up through Verify)."

(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

It said the Department for Work and Pensions was working on an improvement plan.

The NAO concluded: "Unfortunately, Verify is also an example of many of the failings in major programmes that we often see, including optimism bias and failure to set clear objectives."

Meg Hillier, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, told The Sun: "The Government's flagship identity verification platform is a textbook case of Government's over-optimism and programme management failure.

"Despite spending at least £154 million on Verify, only half the people that try to sign up are able to use it and take-up is much lower than expected.

"More worrying, it is not yet clear what it will cost for Government departments to continue using Verify when Government funding stops next year."

The Government is to stop funding Verify in March 2020, after which it will be taken over by the private sector.

The latest revelations come as Universal Credit claimants have increasingly faced an online battle for their benefits due to the new system being designed as an online service.

To access it, people need to create an online account and complete registration within seven days, then need to enter further details to finish their claim within 28 days.

But recent data has shown that 462,000 people needed help from friends, family, jobcentre staff or a charity to put in an application for Universal Credit

This has prompted concerns from campaigners that many more may have slipped through the net completely.

(Image: Ian Cooper / Teesside Live)

Debt charity Christians Against Poverty warned that more than a fifth of people it had helped did not have internet access at home.

It said: "Digital exclusion is a significant challenge for many people helped by us. In our own research we found that 22 per cent said they do not have access to the internet at home, on a computer or smart phone.

"As Universal Credit is designed to be ‘digital-by-default’, difficulties making a claim online featured strongly amongst our clients."

Margaret Greenwood MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said earlier: "It’s clear that making people make and manage their Universal Credit claims online is stopping people getting the social security support they should be entitled to.

"Nobody should lose out because they find it difficult to use IT or don’t have easy access to it, especially with the widespread closures of libraries and jobcentres.

"The government must stop the rollout of Universal Credit before any more people are pushed into poverty by a benefit that should protect them from it."

(Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)

Problems have been made worse by the removal of Jobcentre computers .

Claimants without internet access at home often end up using computers at their local Jobcentre, or getting staff to help them do so.

But now it turns out there are fewer of the machines available.

Alok Sharma, a minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, said the number of customer devices in Jobcentres across England had been reduced by 352 "due to the rationalisation of the DWP Estate."

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Manny Hothi, head of policy at anti-poverty charity Trust for London, told the Independent: "From our research we know that some people are struggling to get online in order to manage their Universal Credit claims.

"We would expect there to be more computers, not less, alongside assistance from Jobcentre staff, to help those who struggle to get online."

A Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman said: "98% of people claim online and our latest claimant survey showed the majority of people found the process easy. Additional support is also available for those that need it."