Charities and opposition call for Universal Credit boost extension

BORIS Johnson will come under intense pressure to extend the £20-a-week uplift to Universal Credit today when Labour forces a Commons vote on the planned cut.

The Prime Minister has been warned by Labour leader Keir Starmer, right, that millions of families will be £1000 a year worse off if the UK Government scraps the increase.

The Government temporarily increased the benefit to help families through the Covid crisis, but the uplift is due to expire in April.

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) warned it will hit thousands as the number of calls about Universal Credit (UC) continues to rise – accounting for one in four of all requests for advice.

Ahead of this year’s budget, CAS has called for the £20-a-week uplift to Universal Credit to be made permanent in the upcoming UK Government budget, or risk plunging thousands into an income crisis.

Scotland’s Citizens Advice Network provided more than 110,485 pieces of advice on UC since March 2020.

CAS said: “This need was particularly pressing at the start of the pandemic, with UC making up 40% of all benefits advice given in April 2020 compared to 32% in February.”

CAS social justice spokesperson Nina Ballantyne said: “In Scotland alone the number of Universal Credit claimants has doubled since January 2020 and to implement a cut of £1040 a year would be devastating to thousands.

“Key workers in low-paid sectors like retail, care and delivery drivers will be among those who need their wages topped up by Universal Credit, and already, families will be worrying about the money stopping and how they’re going to afford food, rent and bills.

“At this critical moment, cancelling the cut is crucial. Keeping the £20-a-week lifeline is the right thing to do to help the most vulnerable and help us all build back better.”

Labour is urging the Prime Minister to reconsider the cut.

Starmer said: “Families across the UK have spent the past year worried for their loved ones, their jobs and their family’s security.

“Millions of people have had to juggle childcare with working from home, have seen jobs or incomes cut or been excluded from self-employed support.

“If we don’t give a helping hand to families through this pandemic, then we are going to slow our economic recovery as we come out of it.

“We began 2021 with one of the worst death tolls in Europe and the deepest recession of any major economy.

“Without action from government, millions of families face a £1000-per-year shortfall in the midst of a historic crisis.

“We urge Boris Johnson to change course and give families certainty today that their incomes will be protected.”

The Government is also facing pressure from charities to keep the uplift.

Action For Children said the case against implementing the cut “couldn’t be clearer” with unemployment to peak in the summer.