7,000 increase in Universal Credit claims
Call for government action to avoid economic slump
THE number of Rochdale residents claiming Universal Credit has soared by thousands during the coronavirus shutdown, official figures show.
The Department for Work and Pensions said the number of Universal Credit (UC) claimants by Jobcentre Plus district showed an increase of exactly 7,000 people from the Rochdale borough applying for the benefits between February and April.
The most recent figures show a total of 21,164 claimants, compared to 14,164 before the start of lockdown, a 49.4 per cent hike.
Local political and business leaders say the numbers deal a warning to government of the significant funding councils will need in order to continue providing their vital services to vulnerable residents and support to local businesses as lockdown restrictions are eased.
Rochdale MP Tony Lloyd said they demonstrate the significant need for skills training in the area to avoid an economic slump post lockdown.
He said: “There is no joy for anybody in these figures. They signify a significant drop in income for families during what is a growing employment crisis.
“We have become aware of a lot more vulnerable people through this crisis who we will need to continue supporting once this is over, and people who have been furloughed might be made redundant when their company is able to get back to work.
“We have got to prepare for the future and that means investing in people and making sure the council has the resources to play its part in that process.
“We need that skills training to give people the chance to find different work. Rochdale still has a strong industrial basis and our further education colleges have the potential to provide training skills relevant to our health services.”
Of the 21,164 claimants, 13,184 were at Rochdale JobCentre Plus, a rise of 35.0pc from March. Of the remainder, 3,094 were at Heywood and 4,886 at Middleton.
Council leader Allen Brett said the local authority had done its utmost to ensure residents affected by loss of work or income during lockdown did not go without.
Coun Brett said: “We have relied on our existing hardship funds, provided food vouchers to families who had delays receiving them due to when they signed up for universal credit, and if anyone is struggling to pay their council tax, they should contact us and there will be situations in which we may write it off.”
He added: “It’s clear that when people have a choice between working and receiving benefits, they will always choose working. The numbers are in line with what I have seen across the borough so far, but if they continue we will really be lobbying government for cash grants.”
Coun Ashley Dearnley, leader of the council’s Conservative group, echoed his colleagues’ statements that councils will be in significant need of government funding as we move out of lockdown.
He said: “It was inevitable that people would suffer greatly from this crisis and the main thing we can do for businesses is to get them reopened so that people can get back to working and improve their life chances by getting off Universal Credit..”
Coun Dearnley, said he was ‘very grateful’ to the council for its ‘proactivity’ during the coronavirus crisis, and added that the majority of local business owners he had spoken to had been pleased with the government support available to them.
Coun John Blundell, cabinet member for employment, believes the town and council need government help to get the economy up and running again and avert the potential for ‘mass unemployment.’
He said: “Whatever plans we had before this crisis regeneration, new transport funding, new strategies - we won’t be able to do any of it if our reserves stay empty.
“Getting that money back from government is the only way, otherwise we’ll see the kind of mass unemployment and deprivation that we’ve seen in towns like ours before.
“The government has to support local authorities and recognise the work we do to get the economy moving again.”
The funds have been used to provide support to residents in the form of preexisting hardship funds or vouchers for families reliant on free school meals.
Coun Blundell added that some of his ward constituents had initially reported difficulties accessing the UC system early in lockdown, and said government support was needed in the form of grants, not loans.
He said: “There’s no point in them spending tens of billions as they have at the beginning of this crisis, to then start scrimping and saving at a local authority level when we’re trying to come out of lockdown. Businesses are planning to come out of lockdown now and they need assurances.”
Subrahmaniam Krishnan-Harihara, head of research at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: “The increase in the number of UC claimants in Greater Manchester shows that household incomes have been squeezed, especially for those on lower paid work in the worst affected sectors such as hospitality and retail.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is first and foremost a public health crisis but it has had substantial negative impact on both the national and local economies. As businesses reopen, people should be supported back into work so that their jobs and incomes are restored.”