Universal Credit and benefits to rise by 1.7% next April but families are £580 a year worse off
PEOPLE on Universal Credit and benefits are to get a 1.7 per cent pay rise next year if a four-year freeze comes to an end – but families will still be £580 a year worse off, warns a charity.
Welfare payments have lagged behind inflation over the past five years leaving families struggling to cover the cost of rising bills.
September’s inflation figures, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today, are used to calculate benefits increases that will come into effect for next April.
If a rise goes ahead, it will be applied to all benefits, including Universal Credit, Tax Credits, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Housing Benefit.
Amber Rudd had hinted that a freeze on benefits wouldn’t continue after March 2020 during her time as Secretary for the Department for Work and Pensions.
But today her successor Thérèse Coffey refused to commit to ending it in her first appearance a the DWP Committee.
What to do if you have problems claiming Universal Credit
IF you’re experiencing trouble applying for your Universal Credit, or the payments just don’t cover costs, here are your options:
Apply for an advance – Claimants are able to get some cash within five days rather than waiting weeks for their first payment. But it’s a loan which means the repayments will be automatically deducted from your future Universal Credit payout.
Alternative Payment Arrangements– If you’re falling behind on rent, you or your landlord may be able to apply for an APA which will get your payment sent directly to your landlord. You might also be able to change your payments to get them more frequently, or you can split the payments if you’re part of a couple.
Budgeting Advance – You may be able to get help from the government to help with emergency household costs of up to £348 if you’re single, £464 if you’re part of a couple or £812 if you have children. These are only in cases like your cooker breaking down or for help getting a job. You’ll have to repay the advance through your regular Universal Credit payments. You’ll still have to repay the loan, even if you stop claiming for Universal Credit.
Cut your Council Tax – You might be able to get a discount on your Council Tax or be entitled to Discretionary Housing Payments if your payments aren’t enough to cover your rent.
Foodbanks – If you’re really hard up and struggling to buy food and toiletries, you can find your local foodbank who will provide you with help for free. You can find your nearest one on the Trussel Trust website.
A hike would mean that someone who receives £500 in benefits will see payments increase to £508.50.
While the boost is welcome, the Resolution Foundation has warned that it’s not enough to off-set the lasting effects of the six per cent drop real term value since 2015.
It found that a family of four in the poorest 50 per cent of households in the UK are actually £580 a year worse off.
And the charity warns that it will get even harder for these families because benefits are to rise at less than half the pace of wages, which grew by 3.9 per cent in the three months to July.
It means that unemployment support has fallen to a record low of just 14 per cent of average earnings.
Adam Corlett, from the Resolution Foundation, said: “Because benefits will only keep pace with rising prices, the social security safety net will continue to erode – falling further behind earnings and the state pension.
“With children born today facing the highest risk of poverty in 60 years, it’s time the main parties rethought their approach to welfare, and reprioritised their efforts towards supporting low and middle income families.”
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The Sun has contacted the DWP for comment.
Today’s inflation figures mean that pensions are set to rise by 3.9 per cent from April next year too.
Yesterday, we warned how benefits and Universal Credit claims are to be decided by robots – and the poorest claimants could be hit the hardest.