Today we launched a new campaign, Guarantee our Essentials, in partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), calling on the UK government to enshrine in law the amount people need to ensure the basic rate of Universal Credit at least covers the essentials.
Universal Credit should offer support to anyone in need of help. But there’s now a significant gap between living costs and the income Universal Credit provides, according to both our and JRF’s calculations. Rates are also not based on what people need and how much essentials such as food, household bills and travel costs, which is driving increasing levels of hardship and pushing people to food banks, with 90% of low-income households on Universal Credit going without. (more…)
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