The removal of the Universal Credit £20 uplift is piling pressure on low-paid families who are struggling to make ends meet, according to a trade union.
Retail trade union Usdaw has expressed disappointment after confirmation by the Work and Pensions Secretary that the £20 uplift in Universal Credit will be phased out in the autumn, despite widespread opposition.
Therese Coffey told MPs that the payment, which was introduced in April last year to help deal with the economic effects of Covid, would end in September and October.
A survey by Usdaw found that 57 per cent of workers on Universal Credit are struggling to pay their gas and electric bills, 80 per cent said they would be worried or very worried if the Government removed the £20 weekly uplift.
Usdaw has urged the Government to do the right thing by listening to low-paid workers who are struggling to make ends meet.
Paddy Lillis, Usdaw general secretary, said: “It is unacceptable that nearly six in 10 workers on Universal Credit are struggling to heat their homes. Usdaw again calls on the Government to retain the £20 weekly uplift and tackle long standing issues with the Universal Credit system. Now is not the time to be removing this lifeline for low-paid workers and their families.
“Usdaw has also consistently called for the rollout of Universal Credit to be halted, to allow a full review and overhaul of how the Government supports the incomes of working people who are already struggling to make ends meet. We need a proper social security system that supports families, particularly during this appalling pandemic.”
Cllr Mike Bell, deputy leader of North Somerset Council has attacked the cut.
He said: "Nearly 13,500 households in North Somerset receive Universal Credit and will now see their income cut by up to £1,000 a year. These are local families on the lowest incomes and who have been hit by unemployment following an incredibly challenging 18 months.
"Even former Conservative ministers have condemned the cut. It will hit the living standards, health and prospects for the very families who most need help as we emerge from the pandemic.
"The government must think again."
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