Grinches at work
Since 1972, benefit claimants have received a little extra for Christmas .. but not under Universal Credit
NOT content with slashing benefits, the Tories are after the Christmas bonus too.
Universal Credit has been exposed as a way of clawing cash from people in need.
But it also signals the end of a £10 payment in place since the 70s.
Edward Heath brought it in for people on benefits at a time of soaring inflation.
At the time, the £10 one-off payment was a welcome boost at an expensive time of year and was enough to buy a full Christmas dinner for a big family.
Its value has been heavily eroded over time by inflation. Now the payment is being ditched by this Tory Government.
This is one benefit that should be restored and uprated to make a real difference at Christmas.
AMBER Rudd has been dubbed the Grinch who stole Christmas after a festive bonus paid out to families on benefits was scrapped.
People being moved to Universal Credit are to lose an additional £10 payment which has been paid at the same rate every Christmas since it was introduced in 1972.
Under Universal Credit, which has been rolled out across Scotland this winter, the cash boost is to be scrapped entirely and Rudd, Work and Pensions Secretary in the UK Government, has no plans to replace it.
The £10 bonus was brought in by the Heath government to provide additional support at a time of high inflation. It has been maintained ever since but successive governments have failed to increase it.
Chris Stephens MP, the SNP member of the Commons Work and Pensions Committee, has called on the DWP to reinstate the bonus and is seeking support from other MPs.
The Glasgow South West MP said: “The rollout of Universal Credit has been used as a trojan horse to scrap the Christmas bonus, which has not been updated in nearly 50 years.
“More than half a million people have been pushed into poverty over the last five years and the Tories’ shambolic Brexit has pushed up the cost of living, while the Tories’ cuts continue to bite.
“It seems the new DWP Secretary of State is playing the Grinch who stole Christmas from families struggling at a difficult time of year.
“It’s up to Amber Rudd to use the power of her office to boost the Christmas bonus for those who receive it and to reinstate to those who have lost out under Universal Credit.”
A DWP spokeswoman said: “Universal Credit claimants have never received a one-off December payment but many disabled people on Universal Credit will be better off on average by £100 month than when they received ESA.”