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Devolved nations warn Tories: abandon worst benefit cut in seven decades

Ministers united in a letter to the Work and Pensions Secretary to warn that the plan to scrap the £20 uplift will cost poor families thousands

MINISTERS came under pressure from every devolved government today to abandon “the biggest reduction in benefits since the welfare state was created” — their plan to scrap the £20 uplift to universal credit (UC).

In a letter to Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish ministers united to warn that the cut will cost poor families thousands.

Welfare charities warned last week that plans to scrap the £20-a-week uplift to UC, introduced during the pandemic, would plunge more than two million people into debt. 

Scottish Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison, Welsh Social Justice Minister Jane Hutt and Northern Ireland’s Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey pointed out that the plans will cost people more than £1,000 a year “at a time when they need financial support the most.”

The letter sent today stated: “This planned withdrawal will be the biggest overnight reduction to a basic rate of social security since the modern welfare state began, more than 70 years ago. 

“Failing to maintain the recent uplift to UC will increase hardship and poverty for people who are already struggling.

“We are concerned about the potential impact that reducing universal credit will have on child poverty, poverty levels and the financial health and wellbeing of people. 

“We urge the UK government to reverse the decision without delay in order to avoid causing further anxiety.”

Claimants in Northern Ireland would lose £55.5 million in this financial year alone, Ms Coffey was told, while 280,940 people on UC in Wales will be worse off.

In Scotland, claimants face a drop in total of £460m per year by 2023/24, they added. 

Citizens Advice Scotland, which has been campaigning to keep the uplift, welcomed the three government’s decision to back the call. 

Spokeswoman Nina Ballantyne said: “Recently we published research showing that a clear majority of people in Scotland support keeping the increase.

“Twenty-eight per cent want to keep it permanently and a further 35 per cent say they want it to remain at least until we have recovered from the pandemic.

“Cutting UC by £20 per week would make it worth less in real terms in 2021 than it was when it was first introduced in 2013, despite the cost of living rising.

“It also won’t help our economy, removing around half a billion pounds’ worth of spending power from people just when we need our economy to grow.

“There’s still time for the UK government to cancel this cut, and ensure people get the support they need.”

The cuts are also expected to hit “red wall” areas in England particularly hard.

Citizens Advice, which operates in England and Wales, warned last week that almost half of the 2.3 million claimants expected to fall in debt as a result of the cut live in these constituencies. 

The move has sparked widespread opposition including from Tory backbenchers.

It has also been reported that Labour is seeking to push a Commons vote to scrap the cut when MPs return from summer recess next month. 

A British government spokeswoman said: “UC 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.”

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