The Chancellor’s decision in last week’s budget not to make permanent the £20 per week boost to universal credit has been described as “tragic”.
The chief executive officer of the Children’s Society in Westminster Diocese, Dr Rosemary Keenan, said: “The cost of COVID cannot be an excuse for continued low levels of universal credit” and “we need, as a nation, to be far more ambitious for our children’s well-being and future”. She added that Chancellor Rishi Sunak “could have offered to review an increase to the £20 later in the year”.
However, she reported that poor parents are relieved that the boost continues until September. “The poor parents we work with are unlikely to think beyond September and to what will happen then,” she said. “They literally think about surviving today, tomorrow and the coming week for this is a life spent struggling to ‘get by in life’, rather than ‘getting on in life’.”
Dr Keenan continued: “The growing divide between those who are financially very well off, those who are getting by and those who are in poverty and living on universal credit has made it difficult for many to understand the impact of budget decisions upon the poorest.”
In her view, “there has to be a more radical way to address child poverty.”
John Coleby, director of Caritas Westminster, regretted that the chancellor “failed to include those on legacy benefits in the extension of the uplift and this includes many people who are sick, disabled, or carers, who have been left without the extra support of £20 a week throughout the pandemic and who are continuing to be left behind”.
Clive Chapman, senior advocacy officer for the Caritas Social Action Network said: “People with disabilities and carers on so-called legacy benefits have again been denied the £20 per week uplift introduced a year ago for those on Universal Credit. This Government has yet again delayed playing its part in long-lasting reforms to put social care on a more viable footing.”
Anna Gavurin, of Westminster’s Caritas Food Collective said: “While we are glad the temporary extension of the uplift to Universal Credit means the looming cliff edge has been taken away for now, it has not been taken away for good, leaving many families facing uncertainty and anxiety in the coming months.
“The Government must ensure that a stronger safety net is in place to help those struggling to meet their basic needs, and access to dignified work is prioritised to prevent more people being pulled into poverty.”
Since the start of the pandemic she has seen the number of food banks run by parishes and schools in Westminster Diocese double. Fr Tony Convery of Golders Green parish reported recently that as well as his parish supporting a local food bank. “I have been dealing with more callers at the door who are simply unable to find the means to eat and provide heating in their homes.”
Justin Thacker, director of Church Action for Tax Justice, said that the chancellor’s £20 uplift to Universal Credit until September, the extension of the Furlough scheme, the increase in the living wage and grants for self-employed “are all to be applauded, however, all of these measures are either temporary or superficial”. He would like to see a wealth tax and “a serious attempt to tackle the structural injustices at the heart of our society”.
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