Wiltshire charity wants election candidates to support Universal Credit changes
The Trussell Trust says benefits should have an 'essentials guarantee'
A Wiltshire charity is calling on all parliamentary candidates to pledge their support for changes to the Universal Credit system.
The Trussell Trust, which runs foodbanks across the UK and has its roots in Salisbury, wants to see benefits come with an 'essentials guarantee'.
That would make sure the payments made to people would be enough to cover basics like food and energy bills.
The charity say they're seeing more people turning to them for help because Universal Credit is falling short.
In the last year, the Trussell Trust gave out 3 million emergency food parcels to households - a record number for a 12 month period.
They're asking election candidates from all parties to back system changes if they're elected on July 4th.
In an open letter to supporters, the charity's said:
"Our social security system should support any one of us when we need help and protect us from going without.
"We need urgent action from the next UK Government to protect people from going without the essentials.
"We have just five weeks to make sure that every Candidate knows this is a priority."