Recommendation 4

HM Government Acknowledged

The UK Government rejects this recommendation. The UK Government has always been clear that the £20 increase was a temporary measure to support those households most economically affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. It was always intended to be temporary. The UK Government defended a challenge in the High Court to the lawfulness of applying the temporary £20 uplift to Universal Credit but not to other Department for Work and Pensions income-related benefits. It was heard in November 2021. In February 2022, the High Court ruled in favour of the Department for Work and Pensions. The courts have so far refused permission to appeal. More recently, the UK Government is now providing over £15bn in further support towards cost-of-living pressures, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with UK Government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year. This means that millions of the most vulnerable households will get £1,200 of one-off support in total this year, with all domestic electricity customers receiving at least £400. We know that the best way families can support themselves is through good, well-paid work; households in full time work on Universal Credit are at least £6,000 a year better off than those out of work. Way to Work and Plan for Jobs are helping jobseekers find new employment, and the UK Government has invested in several schemes to support claimants into work. For example, the Kickstart scheme enabled claimants aged 16-24 to secure a fully funded six-month job role. As of 08 May 2022, over 162,600 Kickstart jobs have been started by young people. The Restart Scheme is offering a fresh start for more than a million people who have been unemployed for over 9 months. This is an addition to the Job Entry Targeted Support Scheme (JETS), which supports those people who have been unemployed for at least 13 weeks. As of 3 April 2022 for England and Wales, the total starts is 246,701 which is why it is being extended until September 2022.