Sinking into debt: The nurse who works 54 hours a week

AN Oldham nurse working 54-hour weeks to support her child has described how switching to Universal Credit has driven her into debt and to the point of considering using food banks.

The controversial benefits system has been trialled in Oldham before being rolled out elsewhere.

Hard-working nurse ‘Alison’, a single mum-of-one in her twenties, moved on to Universal Credit in May when she signed up for new housing benefits before starting a new job in July. She had to wait two weeks before getting an appointment to make her claim active, and then a further seven weeks before her first payment.

Previously Alison had been receiving a range of benefits while studying for her nursing course, equalling some £480 a month.

However, after entering employment she registered for Universal Credit to supplement her income.

Based on her salary of around £1,400 a month, she now receives £66 in additional benefits – making her on average, she claims, less than £2 better off a week and she is now sinking into debt – particularly because of the delay she suffered in receiving the help.

She believes that under the previous housing benefit system, lone parents and working families such as herself would have been much better supported.

Alison, who did not want us to publish her real name for fear of being stigmatised, said that after waiting nine weeks with only a £200 advance payment to support her, she owed her landlord just under £1,000 and was threatened with eviction.

She said: “If you can’t feed your child you’re not meeting their needs and that’s an issue for child services. There’s child poverty already in Oldham and I can see a large increase since Universal Credit came across.

“At one point I took my child into the Job Centre and asked who was going to feed my child, because I have nothing left.”

Alison was left reliant on her parents for support, who are already on a low income, and her sister to help with her child care.

She added: “It was more of a pride thing to not go to the food bank. I’ve had to use the food bank as a student but I’d said my goodbyes to them after I’d qualified as a nurse so I didn’t want to go back after that. At work I was surviving on coffee and water until I finished work and could get into my car to eat something.”