How is anyone meant to live on £250 a month?

JOHN Gray has been battling to get a job since resigning from his last post three months ago. He has been competing in interviews with people who know their time on furlough is coming to an end. And he believes that the poorest people in society are being clobbered from all angles. John has been forced to borrow cash from friends and family after being sanctioned by the DWP – who cut his Universal Credit to £5 a month. He is living with his gran and is keen to pay his way, saying the pressure caused by his abject poverty is massive.

John, 24, said: “I was working as a horticulturist and I fell out with my boss, so I resigned.

“I missed a scheduled phone call with the Jobcentre Plus and they sanctioned me, putting down that I was sacked for misconduct, and they stuck me on five quid a month, which I can barely believe.

“My reality is that even if I get back on to Universal Credit, I’ll be getting around £250 a month and I’ll be paying debts off that. But how is anyone meant to feed and clothe themselves on that? If electricity bills go up it will make life impossible for the poorest of people.”

John, from Cambuslang, near Glasgow, said his job hunting has been unsuccessful due to intense competition.

He said: “People who have been on furlough are all looking for a way of sorting themselves out, so it’s not just a matter of turning up at the Jobcentre and getting a start.”

Stephen Park, 42, gets £368 a month Universal Credit and says he sometimes goes days without eating a proper meal. He pays £60 a month on fuel bills and dreads costs going up further.

Stephen, also from Cambuslang, said: “If the Government allows fuel companies to charge what they like, it will be a disaster. They’re already fat cats and they only care about getting as much cash as possible.

“Cutting £20 back from Universal Credit doesn’t make sense. My situation is only getting worse because of the cost of stuff going up, so how can they justify cutting my benefits?”