How Universal Credit claims have soared since pandemic
NUMBERS claiming Universal Credit have soared from pre-pandemic levels – and one Leicestershire neighbourhood has seen the figure nearly triple.
It means struggling families in the area could be among the hardest hit by the failure of benefit rates to keep pace with the soaring cost of living.
In all, 299 people in Charnwood’s Birstall Central area were on Universal Credit as of February 10, latest Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures show. That was nearly three times the 104 claiming the benefit in February 2020, just before the economic chaos caused by Covid-19 sent demand for UC soaring across the UK.
It means 6.8% of the area’s population aged 16 and over were claiming in February, up from 2.4% two years earlier – the sharpest increase in Leicestershire
However, the area with the highest proportion of the 16-plus population on UC was Leicester’s Braunstone Park West, where 1,261 were claiming, or 26.3%.
Across Leicestershire as a whole, 84,520 people were on UC in February – 9.8% of people aged 16 and over. That compares to 141,253 in February 2020, or 4.8%.
A higher proportion of people now reliant on UC are in employment. In
January, 36,180 claimants were employed, 43.2% of recorded claimants, compared to 37.8% two years previously.
Benefits – including UC – are set to rise by 3.1% from today, in line with the rate of inflation in the year to September 2021.
But an explosion in global energy prices and other factors has pushed the cost of living well above that, which means the rise is likely to be wiped out by ballooning household expenses. The Bank of England expects inflation to hit around 8% in the coming months, and possibly higher later in the year.
Anti-poverty group the Resolution Foundation says rapidly rising inflation could bring the biggest squeeze on incomes across the UK since the 1970s.
Adam Corlett, principal economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Low to middle-income households will be hardest hit by the cost of living squeeze, especially when the energy price cap rises, and should therefore be the priority for support.”
Across Britain, about 5.6 million people were on UC in February, which is 10.6% of the 16-plus population. This is up from 2.9 million (5.5%) in 2020, although it is slightly down from 5.9 million in February 2021 (11.3%).