Universal Credit: 212,000 Londoners could go hungry if payment cut goes ahead
The £20-a-week temporary increase was put in place at the start of the pandemic
212,000 people in London fear they will be forced to skip meals if UK government cuts Universal Credit payments this October, according to a new report by the Trussell Trust.
It also found 172,000 people in the region fear being unable to heat their homes this winter, and 162,000 say they’ll need to use a food bank the cut goes ahead.
The £20-a-week temporary increase was put in place at the start of the pandemic - and taking it away will leave people over a thousand pounds worse off a year.
The charity says this is "the biggest overnight cut to social security since the Second World War and will be a huge blow for thousands of families in the city both in and out of work."
The Trussell Trust, which supports a nationwide network of more than 1,300 food bank centres, is part of a coalition of 100 organisations that is urgently calling on the UK government to stop the cut as part of the Keep the Lifeline campaign.
The cut comes amid growing need at food banks throughout the charity’s network during the pandemic, as well as year-on-year increases in numbers of emergency food parcels distributed to people who are living in crisis.
Emma Revie, chief executive at the Trussell Trust, said:
“Cutting this lifeline will be a devastating blow for thousands of people across London already struggling to make ends meet. These are families already caught in impossible situations who worry every day about switching on the heating and feeding their children. Families who are nearly at breaking point but just about managing to keep their heads above water.
“This research reveals the shocking consequences of what lies ahead if this lifeline is cut in October. No one should have to suffer the indignity of not being able to afford the essentials in life – like food or heating. That’s why we’re saying it would be wrong of the UK government to take away £20 a week from already precarious incomes and push even more people through the doors of food banks.
“The answer must be to ensure our social security system provides people with enough money to cover the essentials. At the very least we’re saying this October, the UK government must choose to protect people and choose to keep the lifeline.
Government representatives say the increase was only meant to be temporary to support people through the pandemic.