New research from Action for Children paints a sobering picture of the impact of the £20-a-week cut to Universal Credit on some of the UK’s poorest families amidst the soaring cost of living crisis. An analysis of the charity’s Crisis Fund that helps families in financial difficulty reveals that in the six months since the cut, more than half of the grants issued were for families on Universal Credit, suggesting the benefit is failing to meet basic living costs.
Highlighting the growing cost of living crisis, nearly four in ten grants in recent months have pointed to a rise in household spending, such as energy bills or food, as another top trigger for families’ financial struggles. Accounting for more than half of the money spent since October, a major focus of the fund was to ensure families the charity supports have access to adequate levels of good quality, nutritious food.
Applications to the fund also show the emotional cost to families struggling to cope, with nearly half reporting adult or child stress, anxiety, or mental health concerns, which rose to over half for those families on Universal Credit. One described how a boy they worked with had been off school with sore feet: “When we explored this further it turned out to be chilblains on the toes of both feet. I asked the child if he had got cold. He told me that the house is cold all the time as the heating is not on. The whole family were wearing coats indoors and the children were sharing beds at night to keep warm.”
Unable to afford the basics
Many workers describe parents skipping meals so their children had enough food or worrying about debts as they were unable to pay bills. Others were unable to afford new school uniforms for their children, or even drive to work because of the cost of the car.
One worker even observed a family “trying to heat the room by turning on the hob.”
Rising living costs
Explaining why she thought families were struggling so much, one worker said: “Rising childcare, and other essential living costs have made it impossible for parents to work, especially single parents.”
Imran Hussain, director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, said: “The worst pain and misery of the cost of living crisis is being felt by children in low income families. Yet, the Government is refusing to target help for these children or accept that it needs to rethink its huge cut to Universal Credit.
“The levels of severe and persistent financial hardship our services are seeing are among the worst they can remember and are robbing too many children of the bright futures they deserve. And yet, with inflation set to reach its highest level for four decades this year, the policy responses introduced by the government to date will not do nearly enough to support low-income families.”
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
