The Chief Officer of Citizens Advice Isle of Wight has described keeping the £20 Universal Credit increase introduced throughout the coronavirus pandemic as ‘the single best way to promote a strong, fair recovery’.
Paul Savill from local charity CAIW went on to say:
“The £20 a week increase doesn’t just help our clients keep food on the table, it’s a critical cash boost for communities that need it most. Taking it away on 6th October will hit many Islanders.
Article continues below this advertisement “The Universal Credit increase has been a lifeline for 1000s on the Isle of Wight during the coronavirus crisis. At CAIW alone, we’ve supported 1131 people with Universal Credit over the course of the pandemic – around 45% of which we hadn’t spoken to before.
“We know the increase is crucial for our recovery, particularly for areas the government has prioritised for ‘levelling up’. Our national research shows that people are one and a half times more likely to claim Universal Credit in areas prioritised for investment.”
On the Isle of Wight, the lifeline represents £10,540,000 in potential spending.
Universal Credit is due to be cut just days after the end of furlough and energy prices are set to rise by up to £153 a year. CAIW analysis shows that 28% of households in which someone receives Universal Credit are behind on their energy bill – 7 times the rate of those who do not receive the benefit.
According to the charity, cutting Universal Credit in October risks sweeping low-income families into more hardship just as they’re getting back on their feet. 1 in 7 working age Islanders will be affected by the cut.
It says that the government’s proposed ‘levelling up’ strategy could take years to pay off for Island residents. Universal Credit offers quick and targeted support for people on the lowest incomes, whether they’re working, looking for work, or unable to work due to disability or caring responsibilities.
Nearly three-quarters of the charity’s debt clients on Universal Credit would be unable to cover their living costs with the combined effect of the cut and the rise in energy bills”.
To help Islanders plan for the challenges ahead Citizens Advice IW and other partners will be holding their annual event “Winter is Coming” on 14th October at the Riverside Centre Newport. Other information is available online at IsleHelp.me.
the extra £20 a week of taxpayers money, which is taken from the pockets of those already working and paying for everything is a temporary Covid measure. It needs to be unwound just like all other covid measures.
The government already pays housing benefit, council tax benefit, job seekers allowance, over £200 a month per child, ability to claim childcare costs of up to £1100 a month for two kids or more if working, free dental, free prescriptions, use of food banks and many other benefits offered to those not working.
How about finding a job instead of a lifestyle benefit claim.
Less nail bars, less fancy hair doo’s, less tatoos, less nights out on the beer, less designer clothes, less sat in some Cafe moaning to other Muvvers how the council took a week to fix the cupboard door yourlatest boyfriend kicked in, whilst you had to pay £3 rent a week for a four bed house to fill with various fathered kids..
Yeah my heart bleeds for them all.
Lmfao…! All tho I whole heartedly disagree with you, good post. (Share the wealth.com).
Spot on. Every word, true, yet the do good brigade will continue to defend those wastes of space until the end of the earth.
Now, and I appreciate that this is going to risk being ‘controversial’, but…
I reluctantly accept that when COVID started, people who were in work etc were able to go and buy ‘stocks’ of food and extras, and those on Benefits were disadvantaged in not having the extra funds available to do this, but WHY was the additional £20 per week granted for a YEAR?!
MANY people were effectively out of work and having to survive on 80% of their regular income – they didn’t get gratis handouts!!
Maybe grant the additional funding for two of three months, but no more!
This is NOT a cut to benefits, it is a restoration of the original rate.
Many people fail to realise that those who receive benefits other than Universal Credit, such as Income Support, Employment & Support Allowance (ESA), were not receiving the additional £20 a week. The only increase these people received was the annual increment; £1.00 per week.
Sadly, television programmes currently on Ch4 & Ch5, following people’s lives on benefits, do not represent the majority. Not all those receiving benefits live a life just like Vikki Pollard (Little Britain); neither do they look nor behave as such.
Television programmes such as ‘Britain on Benefits’ is a poor representation of the majority claiming. Sadly, these programmes offer nothing positive but negativity, fueling assumptions that everyone is the same.
Possibly the government could transfer this £20 a week to the pensioners who receive £137 per week total after paying National Insurance for 50 years of working life.
I’m sure it wouldn’t get spent on tattoos and nailcare…