Plea For ‘Full Scale Rescue’ Of Universal Credit In Upcoming Budget

Universal Credit (UC) needs a “full scale rescue mission” from the upcoming budget before it plunges hundreds of thousands of claimants into poverty. The latest study into the ill-fated – even toxic – reform shows the potential for a “colossal failure” of public policy if UC rolls out little more than desperation and destitution, a new study says. Figures cited in the study by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and the Institute for Public Policy Research show the ‘flagship’ reform is sinking as its system for benefiting families for taking on more work had effectively been broken by austerity. Download their report– Austerity Generation – from the CPAG website.

Welfare Delays Cause Soaring Numbers Using Food Banks

Delays and gaps in the welfare state are behind the soaring numbers turning to food banks, according to new research into those relying on charity in Britain. Minor adjustments to the benefits system could prevent many from needing emergency food, research commissioned by Oxfam, Child Poverty Action Group, Church of England and The Trussell Trust has found. For more than half of those interviewed, the immediate trigger which sent them to a food bank was linked to problems with welfare, including waiting for benefits to be paid, sanctions, problems with Employment Support Allowance or missing tax credits. Read more on the Independent website.