Lower income families ‘bearing brunt’ of crisis
Poorer families have been hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic – and are likely to find it harder to recover from the economic aftermath, a new report warns.
Anti-poverty campaign group, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), says people who were already struggling when Covid-19 hit were the most financially vulnerable and tend to work in the sectors which have been hit hardest.
It warns that the third lockdown, while necessary to save lives, could push many families to the brink amid an "economic storm'.
The Foundation said ministers must make tackling poverty an economic priority in 2021, and give urgent support so that the lowest earners can recover from lockdowns and job losses – including making permanent the £20 weekly rise to Universal Credit payments, which is in place until the end of March.
Its report says: "The Government needs to do the right thing and keep supporting people on low incomes. If it takes the lifeline away, people will be cut adrift and pulled deeper into poverty."
JRF director Helen Barnard said: "It is a damning indictment of our society that those with the least have suffered the most before the pandemic and are now being hit hardest once again by the pandemic.
"The Government must now make the right decisions to avoid another damaging decade. It's unacceptable that certain groups are bearing the brunt of the economic impact of Covid-19.
Ministers were right to increase Universal Credit by £20 a week and they must now make it permanent and extend this support to legacy benefits."