Removing the Uplift to Universal Credit Will be a Disaster for Struggling Families. By Adam Colclough

 

Green Party activists in North Staffordshire have expressed alarm at government plans to phase out the £20 uplift to Universal Credit in the Autumn.

A spokesperson said “if it goes ahead this cut would be a disaster for families that were struggling to get by before the pandemic, many of whom are now at risk of being trapped in poverty”.

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey told the Commons Work and Pensions committee that the payment brought in in April 2020 to help families struggling during the pandemic would be subject to an ‘adjustment’ before being phased out in October.

She said, "Ahead of October we will start communicating with the current claimants... to make them aware that will be being phased out and they will start to see an adjustment in their payments,"

Asked about the change to Universal Credit during an appearance before the Liaison Committee prime minister Boris Johnson said the time had come for a ‘different emphasis, adding "The emphasis has got to be about getting people into work."

There are currently 5million households in the UK receiving Universal Credit and one million receiving Working Tax Credits, concern amongst these about the loss of the £20 uplift is widespread.

The impact on families who are struggling to make ends meet is evidenced by research carried out for debt charity Turn2Us shows that 46% of adults in households receiving either Universal Credit or Tax Credits fear the loss of the £20 uplift will affect their ability to afford food.

The research also shows that 44% fear not being able to pay their utility bills; 29% do not know if they will still be able to pay their rent or mortgage and 20% feel it will be hard for them to stay out of debt.

Chief Executive of Turn2us Thomas Lawton said that after “a decade of caps, cuts and freezes to the UK’s social security payments has left it one of the least generous in Europe. Many of us already struggle to pay for the bare essentials. If the government forges ahead with its cut to Universal Credit, it could plunge many more into hunger and debt”.

Adding that “It’s just not right that families are left unable to afford to put food on their tables and are having to turn to food banks, so they and their children don’t go hungry”.

The cut is, the research results suggest, likely to add to the growing mental health crisis amongst people living on low incomes. Out of the people questioned 46% reported feeling anxious as a result, 30% said they had lost sleep and 32% said it had caused them to feel depressed.

Turn2us have called on the government to keep the uplift in place with chief executive Thomas Lawton saying that failing to do so “will have a detrimental impact on people’s lives and livelihoods – and their ability to contribute to our recovery.”

The data was produced in partnership with other organisations campaigning on social justice issues as part of the #keepthelifeline campaign.

Losing the £20 uplift to universal credit will have a serious impact on many families living in Stoke-on-Trent. 

 

 

A report produced by Staffordshire University’s Hardship Commission found that there are 50,228 people in the city claiming one or more benefit, 31.4% of the working age population. Even with the uplift Universal Credit only provides an income equivalent to 40% of the average wage, currently £409 a month for a single person and £1112 a month for a couple with children.

As a result, 90,000 people in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme are in debt and struggling to pay rent or utility bills. Hunger is becoming a major issue in the city, in 2020 the local food bank gave out 14,000 emergency parcels.

Professors David Etherington and Martin Jones, co-authors of the report are calling for government action to address poverty in the city, including a Scandinavian style job rotation scheme to help people back into work.

Speaking to the media in June Professor Etherington said it is “a disturbing fact, given that Britain is one of the richest countries in the world, is that thousands of people in Stoke-on-Trent have insufficient incomes to meet basic needs and a consequence of this is that more and more people are turning to foodbanks for welfare support”.

The spokesperson for North Staffs Green Party said, “respected academics have shown the extent of poverty in Stoke-on-Trent and charities helping on the frontline with the UK’s poverty crisis have shown the impact poverty is having on struggling families. The very last thing the government should be doing at this time is snatching away the £20 that could be all that separates them from real hardship”.