Universal Credit: 630,000 more families on benefits, experts warn
At least 630,000 families with children have been pushed onto Universal Credit since the pandemic began, a charity has warned.
Action for Children obtained government data through a Freedom of Information request in March this year and found that the number of households with children on Universal Credit more than doubled from one million to over two million between November 2019 and November 2022.
Official figures also showed that less than half (44%) of those extra 1.1 million families were previously receiving one of the "legacy" benefits that are gradually being replaced by Universal Credit, meaning at least 630,000 of the remaining families appear to represent new claimants.
Ana, 37, a support worker from Somerset, is one of those affected: "Universal Credit is simply not sufficient. The stress and humiliation of not being able to afford the basics for me is the worst," she says. "I’d love a politician to live in a council house like me for a month and see how they’d survive."
(Read Ana's story in her own words at the bottom of this article)
Action for Children is lobbying the government to raise the child element of Universal Credit by at least £15 a week and abolish the Benefit Cap.
The charity's chief executive, Paul Carberry, said: "During the pandemic, the increase in Universal Credit claims was driven by single people needing help.
"Now, with the cost-of-living crisis, the big driver of new Universal Credit claims is families with children struggling to meet their needs and especially lone-parent families.
"Food prices are still soaring as the cost-of-living crisis continues, and far too many children are going without basic essentials."
Carberry said that scrapping the benefit cap and boosting the credit payments by £15 would "lift nearly 320,000 children out of the misery of hardship".
Read more: How to claim pension credit and get £301 cost of living payment
He said: "Our analysis provides more evidence of the devastating double blow of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis on families with children. They face higher poverty rates than others, but also face more barriers to finding work, or taking on extra work.
"We know many families with children relying on Universal Credit payments - including those in work - will find them inadequate to meet their basic needs."
He said that despite benefits rising recently, previous cuts and freezes over the past decade mean the value of Universal Credit has fallen by around 5% in real terms since 2013/14.
Last month, a coalition of more than 90 organisations wrote to the government warning that nine in 10 low-income households receiving universal credit payments are currently going without essential items.
The charity’s analysis also shows how the demographics of households coming on to Universal Credit has shifted since the pandemic.
🧮 We've done our #maths & it doesn't add up!
The current basic rate of #UniversalCredit falls £35 *per week* short of the actual cost of essentials like food, utilities & vital household goods
👉Join us in calling on the Govt to guarantee #OurEssentials https://t.co/W96obGGWaB pic.twitter.com/VWTSaGifvJ— Joseph Rowntree Foundation (@jrf_uk) April 17, 2023
The number of people claiming Universal Credit soared during the first year of the pandemic, driven largely by single adults without children. Numbers then fell back after peaking in March 2021, but began rising again as the cost-of-living crisis unfolded from late 2021 onwards.
This time, they were found to be overwhelmingly driven by families with children, representing nearly nine in ten (86%) of the new households claiming Universal Credit - particularly single parents.
Additional research by Action for Children found that as many as 1.95 million UK children could be trapped on low incomes as their parents face at least one major barrier to working or taking on extra work - including 440,000 children who are in poverty despite their parent(s) working full-time.
The charity has published a paper entitled All Worked Out? The limits of work as a route out of poverty and hardship which can be found here.
'I’ve cut down on everything'
Ana, 37, from Somerset, claimed Universal Credit for the first time during her maternity leave in January 2021. She currently works part-time as a support worker for people with learning disabilities and mental health issues. She previously worked in the role full-time, had never been out of work or claimed benefits before.
"I worked right up until my daughter was born in January 2021. As her dad and I had split up, my maternity pay was not enough for us to survive on, so I applied for Universal Credit as a top-up.
"I never knew how the system worked before, so it was a shock to find out how little I was expected to live on, even with child benefit.
"Universal Credit is simply not sufficient. The stress and humiliation of not being able to afford the basics for me is the worst.
"I’ve cut down on absolutely everything – I especially had to cut down on anything of high quality, and I double or triple check prices constantly. I haven’t been able to buy any new clothing for me or my daughter in the past year, which is just awful. I’d love a politician to live in a council house like me for a month and see how they’d survive.
"The free hours of childcare the government says isn’t exactly free – just a discount on childcare that is already extremely expensive – and it’s less than 15 hours a week as it doesn’t take holidays into account. If someone could stay with my daughter, I would happily work all the hours I could – but I don’t because of the high childcare costs."
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A DWP spokesperson said: “We are committed to supporting the most vulnerable and young people and have helped nearly two million people out of absolute poverty since 2010, including 400,000 children.
“We recognise the pressures of the rising cost of living which is why we have provided record levels of direct financial support, including £1,350 for those most in need. Benefits have also risen by over 10 per cent and the National Living Wage has increased by more than 9 per cent.”