£20 credit cut forces Staffordshire families to choose between fuel or food
40,000 people will be affected when the Government cuts support today
Last updated 6th Oct 2021
The £20-per-week cut to Universal Credit could see families in Staffordshire and Cheshire have to choose between food and fuel.
40,000 people in Staffordshire alone will be affected by the Government's decision to withdraw the extra support, which was brought in at the start of the pandemic.
Simon Harris, from Stoke & North Staffs Citizens Advice, is concerned it could be a very difficult winter for people in the area:
"We could see more and more people who are on pre-payment meters running out of credit and effectively disconnecting themselves, and we could well see people struggling and getting further into debt if they’re having to borrow money and make ends meet.”
He also stressed that a severe winter and a cut back in funding could lead to poor health for many people:
"Depending on how severe in winter it is we could see more people succumbing to cold-related diseases as we often do in a difficult winter, particularly if they can’t afford to heat their homes properly."
Recipients of Universal Credit will now be £1,040 pounds worse off per year than they were at the start of the pandemic.
A Government spokesman said: "We've always been clear that the uplift to Universal Credit was temporary.
It was designed to help claimants through the economic shock and financial disruption of the toughest stages of the pandemic, and it has done so."
READ MORE: Suffolk Coastal MP slammed for 'insulting' karaoke choice