Sumi Rabindrakumar, head of policy and research at Trussell, said: “The DWP’s own research is just the latest evidence that we urgently need to update our social security system to make it fit for purpose, fulfilling its most basic function of protecting people from debt and deep hardship.
“Incomes are simply not enough to cover the essentials for too many people claiming universal credit. Our recent YouGov research indicated that more than half of universal credit recipients who are subject to government deductions have run out of food in the past month and not had enough money to buy more.”
Research by Public Law Project found that 42% of people have had their mental health impacted negatively due to deductions to universal credit.
Big Issue has previously reported on how the DWP often seizes back money from universal credit claimants due to overpayments and to repay debts, often because of its own mistakes.
Tom MacInnes, director of policy at Citizens Advice, said: “Too many people on universal credit are in a negative budget, meaning their income isn’t enough to cover their essential outgoings.
“Benefit deductions for debts owed to the government are a huge driver in this. More often than not, deductions reduce people’s income to unsustainable levels, pushing them further into debt and having to choose between heating or eating.”
Citizens Advice found that 2.25 million households on universal credit – containing 2.3 million children – are now receiving less income than they are entitled to as a result of deductions.
MacInnes said “universal credit is in urgent need of reform” and urged the government to cap deductions at 15% of someone’s standard universal credit allowance.
Rabindrakumar said: “We know the government has difficult choices to make. But continued inaction on social security also has a price. The deep levels of hardship that millions of people are experiencing are damaging people’s mental health, their ability to seek and sustain work, and family life.
“The UK government must prioritise introducing a protected minimum floor in universal credit in the autumn budget, establishing a level below which basic universal credit support cannot fall.
“It is an affordable way to start fixing the foundations of our social security system, tackling unaffordable debt repayments and benefit cap reductions, and ensuring people keep as much of their payments as possible to cover the essentials.”
Estimates from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that universal credit falls short of around £120 a month of what people need to survive before deductions.
The charity is calling for an ‘essentials guarantee’ to be implemented in universal credit to ensure people have at least enough money to survive.
Shelley Hopkinson, head policy and influencing at Turn2us, says: “Our social security system should provide genuine financial security, not push people deeper into hardship. At Turn2us, we hear heartbreaking stories every week – single parents skipping meals, families struggling to keep warm, and carers having to choose between paying bills and buying food.
“The government must listen to people’s experiences and use the upcoming budget to introduce a protected minimum amount for universal credit, that is safe from excessive deductions and ensures that families are not trapped in debt.”
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