by Cllr Carrie Harper
The hidden poverty crisis growing in Welsh communities and why it was vital the keep the £20 benefits uplift
Covid is pushing more and more Welsh families into poverty, many are experiencing extreme hardship for the first time and charities fear they will not be able to cope with additional demand if existing support is reduced.
Claims for Universal Credit have surged across the UK from 3 million in March 2020 to 5.8 million by November of last year. Many families have had no other option but to apply for the benefit, particularly if they’ve been self-employed for less than three years and don’t qualify for other support schemes.
Universal Credit recipients have been receiving an additional £20 ‘uplift’ per week because of the pandemic which is due to end in April next year. A vote in the Commons tonight saw the Tories pressed to extend the scheme described by many as a lifeline. They abstained on the vote, no doubt having been burned by the backlash to their stance on free school meals in England but the issue will inevitably be back on the table soon.
Research by Wales Fiscal Analysis found that ending the temporary uplift could leave over a third of Welsh households, excluding pensioners, more than £1,000 worse off annually.
As a County Councillor I’ve worked with local food charities in Wrexham since the introduction of Universal Credit locally in 2017. I’ve been speaking to them about the impact Covid has had on their work and why they believe taking away the £20 uplift would be disastrous.
A spokesperson from the Given to Shine charity, who I’ve worked particularly closely with, told me what it’s been like on the front line of the pandemic and explained that they are now working with many new people and are currently feeding about 1500 families a week across Wrexham and Flintshire.
The spokesperson said:
Covid is pushing more and more Welsh families into poverty, many are experiencing extreme hardship for the first time and charities fear they will not be able to cope with additional demand if existing support is reduced.
Claims for Universal Credit have surged across the UK from 3 million in March 2020 to 5.8 million by November of last year. Many families have had no other option but to apply for the benefit, particularly if they’ve been self-employed for less than three years and don’t qualify for other support schemes.
Universal Credit recipients have been receiving an additional £20 ‘uplift’ per week because of the pandemic which is due to end in April next year. A vote in the Commons tonight saw the Tories pressed to extend the scheme described by many as a lifeline. They abstained on the vote, no doubt having been burned by the backlash to their stance on free school meals in England but the issue will inevitably be back on the table soon.
Research by Wales Fiscal Analysis found that ending the temporary uplift could leave over a third of Welsh households, excluding pensioners, more than £1,000 worse off annually.
As a County Councillor I’ve worked with local food charities in Wrexham since the introduction of Universal Credit locally in 2017. I’ve been speaking to them about the impact Covid has had on their work and why they believe taking away the £20 uplift would be disastrous.
A spokesperson from the Given to Shine charity, who I’ve worked particularly closely with, told me what it’s been like on the front line of the pandemic and explained that they are now working with many new people and are currently feeding about 1500 families a week across Wrexham and Flintshire.
The spokesperson said:
“Demand for our support has soared since the Coronavirus pandemic, however, we’ve noticed a dramatic drop in requests from people on Universal Credit due to the £20 rise. Since April around 95% of requests have been new, from working households; citing, in particular, self employed financial delays, furlough leading to a 20% income reduction, yet increased food and utility bills, and people now on reduced hours to meet workplace Covid regs as the cause of their financial insecurity.
"Previously, requests predominantly due to UC delays were a common theme, transitions and recalculations in both working and non working also cropped up frequently. The £20 extra per week has seemingly provided recipients with the means required to both eat and heat their households.
"Many of the new people contacting us have lived relatively comfortably for years and as a result, have high outgoings - finance products, credit cards, phone contracts, cars on finance (with huge fines if you break the contract!) so are juggling which bills can be delayed and which are essential, with many having little to nothing left for food. Even the lucky ones who had savings 10 months ago are increasingly finding that their savings have long gone, or are drying up.
"Furlough is equally as difficult for many, with people just staying afloat on minimum wage jobs now receiving 20% less, and this time of year they don’t have the ability to turn the heat off all day whilst they work and the kids are in school. The kids are bored so want to snack more and there’s the increased cost of more meals at home. Both of these groups of people are left with only one pot of money to cut back on and sadly that’s the grocery fund because they cannot risk eviction by withholding rent or their mortgage, court by withholding council tax, having their gas and electricity cut off by skipping those bills, or huge fines by breaking contracts for credit products.
"It’s a shocking situation and takes hidden poverty to a completely new level, we’re helping people who have really nice houses, nice cars, but no food and all the lights off to save on the electricity. If the £20 uplift were to stop, I don’t think we’d be able to cope with the demand that would create.”
No comments:
Post a Comment