1 in 3 families ‘hit by end of £20 Universal Credit uplift’

MOST constituencies in Great Britain are set to see more than one in three families hit with the “biggest overnight cut in benefits since the Second World War”, campaigners have warned.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has said 413 parliamentary constituencies across the country will see at least a third of working-age families who have children hit by the planned end to the £20 a week uplift to Universal Credit and Tax Relief, due to begin on October 6.

Of those 413 constituencies which will be affected by the £1,040 a year cut, 191 are Conservative – 53 of which were newly won at the last general election or in a subsequent by-election.

The JRF, a charity which campaigns to end poverty, has also revealed that in some Labour constituencies more than threequarters of families with children will be affected by this cut.

The cut is expected to have the most severe impact in Yorkshire and the Humber, the North East, North West, and West Midlands.

However, the JRF has said the cut will have “far-reaching consequences on families with children across Britain”.

Katie Schmuecker, deputy director of policy and partnerships at the JRF, said: “We are just over a month away from the UK Government imposing the biggest overnight cut to the basic rate of social security since the Second World War. This latest analysis lays bare the deep and far-reaching impact that cutting Universal Credit will have on millions of low-income families across Britain.

“MPs from across the political spectrum are already expressing their deep concerns about this planned cut. Now is the time for all MPs to step up and oppose this cut to their constituents’ living standards. Plunging low-income families into deeper poverty and debt as well as sucking billions of pounds out of local economies is no way to level up. It’s not too late for the Prime Minister and Chancellor to listen to the huge opposition to this damaging cut and change course.”

According to the JRF’s analysis, on average 21% of all working-age families, either with or without children, will experience a £1,040 a year cut to their incomes on October 6. The temporary £20 a week uplift was introduced to help claimants weather the coronavirus pandemic, but MPs and charities including Save the Children have called for it to be made permanent.