Source · Select Committees · Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 100
100
At the start of the covid-19 pandemic Universal Credit was uplifted by £20 a week...
Conclusion
At the start of the covid-19 pandemic Universal Credit was uplifted by £20 a week (£1,040 a year).244 The evidence we have heard has been very supportive of this policy and the change has helped Universal Credit claimants enormously during this time. Chris Birt from The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said that the uplift was ‘very welcome’.245 Nina Ballantyne of Citizens Advice Scotland added that ‘I heard somebody interviewed for the news the other day talking about the £20 a week making it barely enough to get by and that taking that away would mean not even having enough to get by’.246 They mentioned in written evidence that ‘Without the additional £20 a week, 8 in 10 CAB [Citizens Advice Bureaux] complex debt clients will be unable to meet their living costs’.247 Suzanne Lavelle of the Southside Housing Association said ‘The £20 uplift to Universal Credit did help, but the fact that that decision was made shows the inadequacy of the current benefits.’248 Professor McKeever, Ulster University explained to us that the reason the £20 uplift was so important to claimants was because ‘the benefit freeze249 that existed for so long [had] undervalued the worth of Universal Credit.’250
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the UK Government announced the temporary uplift as part of a £400 billion package of measures put in place that will last well beyond the end of the roadmap. The UK Government focused support on Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit claimants because they were more likely to be affected by the sudden economic shock of Covid-19 than legacy benefit recipients. There was never any plan to extend the uplift to legacy benefits. As the economy recovers, the UK Government’s ambition is to help people move into and progress in work as quickly as possible based on clear evidence around the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. The UK Government’s ambitious Plan for Jobs is already delivering for people of all ages right across Great Britain and includes new schemes such as the £2 billion Kickstart Scheme.