Ministers from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are calling on the UK government to keep the £20 uplift to Universal Credit in place beyond the current October deadline.
In a letter to Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey, they call for the policy to be made permanent and describe the change – which is due to come into effect in October – as “the biggest overnight reduction to a basic rate of social security since the modern welfare state began, more than 70 years ago”.
The ministers also raised concerns about the impact the reduction would have on poverty.
Image: Some Conservative MPs have called on Boris Johnson to make the temporary £20 Universal Credit uplift permanent
It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing mounting pressure over the matter, with some members of his own Conservative backbenches calling for the government to reverse plans to cut Universal Credit payments
The government brought in a £20-per-week uplift as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic but it is due to be removed on 6 October.
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The exact date the money stops being paid to an individual will vary depending on the day they usually receive Universal Credit, so for some people this will mean the last payment at the higher rate will be at the end of September.
Writing a letter last week, Tory MPs Peter Aldous and John Stevenson said the increase should be made permanent “so that low-income families continue to be able to make ends meet”.
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The pair said they have “very serious concerns” about the removal of the top-up and urged ministers to listen to the “widespread warnings that are coming from all quarters” on the impact the cut could have on low income families.
They also said the move would go against the prime minister’s levelling-up agenda.
In the second letter addressed to ministers on the matter in one week, ministers from Holyrood, Cardiff and Stormont criticised the UK government’s plans to axe the uplift “at a time when they need financial support the most”.
Image: The ministers are urging Therese Coffey not to axe the top-up in October
The joint letter, from Scotland’s Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison, Welsh Social Justice Minister Jane Hutt and Northern Ireland’s Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey said people will lose more than £1,000 a year if the top-up is scrapped.
In it, the ministers expressed the “grave concerns of all three devolved administrations”.
“Failing to maintain the recent uplift to Universal Credit will increase hardship and poverty for people who are already struggling,” the letter states.
“To support the social and economic recovery, particularly as we ease out of the public health emergency, we urge you to reverse this decision and to strengthen the support offered by Universal Credit, instead of weakening it.”
The Scottish Government has already voiced concerns that ending the £20 increase could reduce social security payments north of the border by more than £460 million per year by 2023-24.
And Ms Coffey is told claimants in Northern Ireland would lose £55.5 million in this financial year alone while 280,940 people on Universal Credit in Wales will be worse off.
Image: Charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) warn against withdrawing the uplift which would see the ‘biggest overnight cut to the basic rate of social security since the Second World War’
It comes as charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) warned against withdrawing the uplift which would see the “biggest overnight cut to the basic rate of social security since the Second World War”.
According to the JRF, most constituencies in England, Wales and Scotland will see more than one in three families and their children affected as a result of the £1,040-a-year cut.
And Citizens Advice have warned that a third of people on Universal Credit – over two million people – will end up in debt when the extra payment is removed.
Asked about the initial letter from two Conservative MPs last Thursday, the prime minister said: “The key focus for this government is on making sure that we come out of COVID strongly with a jobs-led recovery.
“And I’m very pleased to see the way the unemployment numbers, the unemployment rate has been falling, employment has been rising, but also wages have been rising. That’s the crucial thing.”
Fellow Conservative Andrew Bridgen has also joined the campaign to keep the uplift in place beyond October.
In a post on social media on Thursday, he said: “Research released today by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reveals that 32% of working age families with children in North West Leicestershire have benefited from the £20 Universal Credit uplift that was introduced at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Image: In July, Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the increase would be scrapped as it was ‘always intended to be a temporary measure’
“It has become part of people’s family budgeting in that time and I think it’s still needed. The economy is moving forward but the longer that uplift is in place now it is morally and politically impossible to remove it.
“The sooner the government come to that conclusion and remove the fear of its removal from the poorest households the better for all concerned.”
But last month, Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the increase would be scrapped as it was “always intended to be a temporary measure”.
The number of people receiving the benefit has doubled during the pandemic, increasing its cost significantly.
The JRF says the policy change will have “deep and far-reaching consequences on families with children across Britain”.
Labour has said it would keep the uplift in place if it was in power and has pledged to eventually replace Universal Credit with a “fairer” system.
A UK government spokesperson said: “The temporary uplift to Universal Credit was designed to help claimants through the economic shock and financial disruption of the toughest stages of the pandemic, and it has done so.
“Universal Credit will continue to provide a vital safety net and with record vacancies available, alongside the successful vaccination rollout, it’s right that we now focus on our Plan for Jobs, helping claimants to increase their earnings by boosting their skills and getting into work, progressing in work or increasing their hours.”
Nigel Farage has confirmed he wants to deport women asylum seekers back to the Taliban in Afghanistan if he becomes prime minister.
The Reform UK leader’s position on the topic has not been clear, with him previously saying he would send women back to the fundamentalist regime that took over after western militaries withdrew, before now saying he would.
Mr Farage was speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby at the Reform UK party conference in Birmingham.
When asked if he would “detain” women and children and “send them back”, the Clacton MP said “yes”.
Challenged on when he said in August that he was not “discussing” women and children, Mr Farage claimed this was a reference to his desire to seeing men detained on arrival in the UK.
At the time he said he was “very, very clear” on the “deportation of illegal immigrants”, adding: “We are not even discussing women and children at this stage – there are so many illegal males in Britain, and the news reports that said that after my conference yesterday were wrong”
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Speaking today, Mr Farage claimed that the UK has a “duty of care” if a four-year-old arrives in a dinghy, for example – but not so for women and men.
“For clarity, those that cross the English Channel will be detained and deported, men and women,” Mr Farage went on.
“Children, we’ll have to think about.”
The Reform leader also rowed back on his pledge to stop all boats within two weeks if he is elected prime minister.
Speaking to the conference yesterday, Mr Farage said: “You cannot come here illegally and stay – we will stop the boats within two weeks of winning government.”
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But speaking to Beth Rigby today, he changed tack – saying “the passing of legislation” would be required.
He said the boats would then be stopped within two weeks, or sooner.
In the interview with Rigby, Mr Farage tried to claim he did not say he would end the boats within two weeks of “winning government”.
But the video of his speech, as well as the transcript released by Reform UK, clearly show him saying: “We will stop the boats within two weeks of winning government.”
When asked why he wouldn’t be able to stop the boats within two weeks of winning government, Mr Farage said it was impossible and “no one” can prevent them crossing the Channel.
The Reform UK leader said the law he wants to introduce will be called the Illegal Migration Act once it is passed by parliament.
He confirmed his agenda includes leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, shutting down asylum hotels and housing people at RAF bases instead, as well as deporting Channel migrants.
Mr Farage also claimed that deportation flights would also begin within two weeks of the law changing, and this combination of factors would stop people from wanting to travel from France.
This strategy all depends on Reform UK winning the next general election – which Labour does not have to call until 2029.
However, Mr Farage says he believes the government will collapse in 2027 due to economic pressure and other factors.
Reform are currently well clear of Labour and the Conservatives in the polling, and are targeting next year’s Welsh, Scottish and English local election to try and win more power in councils and national assemblies.