A number of Catholic charities have told The Tablet they are deeply concerned about the impact on the most vulnerable of welfare reforms, writes Bernadette Kehoe.
Critics have warned that a new system of benefit payments is contributing to rising debt, rent arrears and evictions.
Phil McCarthy, CEO of Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN), the social action agency of the Catholic Church, said: “The delays are leading to increased food bank usage and rising debts.
“We hope that the Government will reconsider its planned timetable for the roll-out of Universal Credit in light of these issues, in order to avoid leaving families without income for extended periods of time.”
Andy Quinn, the chief executive of Father Hudson’s Care, the social care agency of the Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, echoed those concerns: “When the Government, with all the resources that it has at its disposal, takes so long to roll out a new system and has this much trouble getting it right, how does it expect individuals, who already have too few resources, to live with the damaging consequences of its mistakes?” he asked.
Nugent, which is based in the Archdiocese of Liverpool, said the latest problems come on top of the cumulative impact of the benefit overhaul over the last few years : “It has had a huge impact on claimants who are spiralling into poverty and struggling to cope. Navigating these new changes has been confusing, distressing and time consuming.”
The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, said that it was “grotesquely ignorant” to assume that everyone has a nest egg that will tide them over.
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