New call to shelve Universal Credit cut

One hundred groups have called on the Prime Minister to abandon the looming cut to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit.

Axing the £20-a-week uplift – introduced temporarily to help claimants weather the storm of the coronavirus pandemic – risks causing "immense, immediate and avoidable hardship", they say.

The Government plans to start phasing out the increase from the end of this month, based on individual claimants' payment dates.

The coalition say most people who will be affected by the cut are already in work and warn it will "fundamentally undermine"theGovernment's mission to level up.

In an open letter to Boris Johnson, they write: "We are rapidly approaching a national crossroads which will reveal the true depth of the Government'scommitmenttoimproving the lives of families on the lowest incomes.

"We all want a social security system that supports families to escape poverty rather than pulling them deeper into it.

"This cut risks causing immense, immediate, and avoidable hardship. A strong social securitysystemisacrucialfirst step to building back better.”

Research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that413parliamentaryconstituencies across Britain will see at least a third of working-age familieswithchildrenaffected.

A Government spokesperson said: "As announced by the Chancellor at the Budget, the uplift to Universal Credit was always temporary.

"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 our Plan for Jobs, supporting people back into work."