MORE than half of the recipients of Universal Credit still don’t come up with the money for for food, recent research commissioned by the Trussell Trust suggests.
Together with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the charity is urging politicians to support the introduction of an Essentials Guarantee, which might enshrine in law the principle that Universal Credit provides enough to cover the associated fee of the essentials comparable to food, utilities, and vital household goods. A petition calling for urgent motion, signed by greater than 150,000 people and supported by other charities including Barnardo’s, the Motor Neurone Disease Association, Just Fair, and the Mental Health Foundation, was presented to the political parties in Westminster this week.
The Bishop of Manchester, Dr David Walker, who was a signatory, was a part of the group presenting the petition.
The research, conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Trussell Trust, suggested that 780,000 Universal Credit claimants (12 per cent) had been driven to make use of a foodbank throughout the previous month (December 2023/January 2024). More than half of those surveyed (55 per cent) ran out of food and will not afford more in the identical period.
Furthermore, within the previous three months, 22 per cent of Universal Credit claimants reported being unable to cook hot food because they might not afford to make use of their oven or other utilities. Half (52 per cent) said that they were either behind on their bills and credit commitments or were finding it a relentless struggle to maintain up with them. The research found that 2.4 million claimaints (37 per cent) had fallen into debt because they might not sustain with essential bills. Two in five (42 per cent) reported being behind on a number of household bills.
One in 4 (26 per cent) reported missing a vital appointment, comparable to a medical one, or travelling to work, because they might not afford the associated fee of transport. In the identical period, about 2.7 million people (42 per cent) needed to skip meals to maintain up with other essential costs, comparable to utilities or rent. Two in five (43 per cent) reported being unable to maintain their home warm this winter.
The charities report that, from April, the £90 weekly Universal Credit standard allowance is £30 lower than the weekly cost of essential items for a single person. The proposed Essentials Guarantee could be based on an independent suggestion, and reviewed frequently.
The charities are calling for the Chancellor to make sure greater support for people on the bottom incomes, including an extension to the Household Support Fund, in his spring Budget.
The chief executive of the Trussell Trust, Emma Revie, said that the research findings emphasised the “stark truth” about poverty within the UK. “When record numbers of persons are being left with no option but to make use of a foodbank, it’s time to reassess the systems that ought to be there to support us all.
“The biggest driver of foodbank need is the failure of our social-security system to guard people from going without the essentials.”
Dr Walker said on Wednesday: “Essentials are how we describe those things it just isn’t practicable for any individual or household to live without. Yet the present Universal Credit system incorporates no technique of ensuring households have enough income to encompass them. This campaign simply desires to put that right.”
The head of church engagement on the Trussell Trust, the Revd Jessica Foster, paid tribute to the work of churches in running foodbanks, and urged them to proceed their support of those experiencing poverty. “Churches are vital to our network of foodbanks, providing venues, donations, volunteers, prayers, and so rather more,” she said.
“More than 12,000 churches across the UK are connected with a Trussell Trust foodbank, and we’re so grateful for his or her compassionate support over a few years. We also consider that churches, who take the decision to make earth a little bit more like heaven, might be vital partners in ending the necessity for foodbanks.”
