The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Fear for families as benefits cut looms
An emergency food provider in Dundee is expecting to see increasing numbers of families pushed into poverty as a result of the cut to Universal Credit.
The UK Government is preparing to reduce payments by £20 a week from October 6 – the equivalent to £1,040 a year – in the biggest cut to the basic rate of social security since the Second World War.
More than 32,000 youngsters across Tayside and Fife will be impacted by the cut, new figures have revealed, with more than 19,000 in Fife and more than 8,000 in Dundee.
Jacky Close, of the Dundee Food Insecurity Network, said it feels like a “tidal wave coming to hit people” unless the UK Government changes direction.
She said the removal of the Universal Credit uplift – coupled with rising food prices due to Brexit – will see “increasing numbers of families” seeking support.
The emergency food provider brings together 26 local grassroots and small community-based projects from across the city.
The £20 temporary uplift was introduced to help claimants weather the storm of the coronavirus pandemic, but charities and politicians have called for it to be made permanent.
Ms Close said: “Our concern is that we’re going to see that increase of people pushed into poverty, forced into a place where they really can’t afford to pay for fuel or food and they’re going to have to access support from charitable organisations.
“We’re very concerned about what’s coming ahead for people and the impact it’s going to have on mental health and wellbeing, on their ability to cope through the winter, really big concerns across all third sector organisations.”
North-east Fife MP Wendy Chamberlain said the “callous and needless cut will hang thousands of children and families out to
dry, impacting communities in every corner of Fife”.
It comes after we revealed last month that Fife was among the worsthit constituencies in Scotland.
She added: “Many people were already struggling under the strain of our broken welfare system, even before the pandemic.
“Without this muchneeded uplift some households simply won’t be able to make ends meet.
“This measure was only a first step on the road to tackle age-based inequality and child poverty.
“Instead, the UK Government is ignoring all the warning signs and abandoning people when they need help the most.”
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has defended plans to cut Universal Credit, despite more than 3,000 families in his Moray constituency facing having their benefits slashed.
The Tory MSP confirmed he did not disagree with the approach taken by the UK Government.
When asked his position, a spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said the party had successfully campaigned for £20 uplift to be extended by six months.
The spokesman added: “These funds provided a safety net to nearly half a million vulnerable people in Scotland at an unprecedented, uncertain time.
“But with restrictions largely gone and our recovery under way, it is right that these measures are reviewed as the focus shifts to helping people get back into work.
“It is right that the UK Government considers carefully how it will start to pay back what has been spent during this crisis.”
Nicola Sturgeon said Boris Johnson would expose an “absence of basic humanity and moral
compass” if he goes ahead with the cut.
Speaking at the SNP conference, she warned the move would “drive people into debt and, in some cases, to destitution and despair”.
A UK Government spokesman said the uplift was “always temporary” and “was designed to help claimants through the economic shock and financial disruption of the toughest stages of the pandemic”.
He added: “Universal Credit will continue to provide vital support for those both in and out of work and it’s right that the government should focus on... supporting people back into work.
“The Scottish Parliament has significant welfare powers and can top up existing benefits, pay discretionary payments and create entirely new benefits in areas of devolved responsibility.”
We all hope that, in the fairly near future, lockdowns and associated restrictions will be consigned to the history books. However, what is sure to remain for some significant time to come is the financial fall-out associated with the coronavirus pandemic.
Furlough and government grants aimed at keeping cash-strapped businesses afloat were generous, but the short-term gain for those in need will come at considerable longterm cost.
And as the UK Government looks to tighten the belt once more, Universal Credits are in line for a
“There has already been plenty of political sniping
cut. Payments are set to be reduced by £20-a-week from October 6 – the equivalent of £1,040 a year.
It represents the biggest cut to the basic rate of social security since the Second World War and the Dundee Food Insecurity Network has warned it feels like a “tidal wave coming to hit people”.
Certainly those on the margins of society, and arguably less well equipped to cope with financial turbulence, will be impacted.
There has already been plenty of political sniping, but finding a more palatable solution will take action rather than words.