UK government, Olivier De Schutter, the UN-appointed rapporteur on extreme poverty, said, “It’s unconscionable at this point in time to remove this benefit,” he said, adding the decision to cut universal credit – which was boosted last year to help people get through the pandemic – was based on a “very ill-informed understanding” of its impact on claimants.
Cutting universal credit by £20 a week breaches international human rights law and is likely to trigger an explosion of poverty, the United Nations’ poverty envoy said.
“For these people, £20 a week makes a huge difference, and could be the difference between falling into extreme poverty or remaining just above that poverty line … If the question is one of fiscal consolidation to maintain the public deficit within acceptable levels then you should raise revenues, not cut down on welfare at the expense of people in poverty.”
There was plentiful evidence showing millions of people would struggle to afford food and pay essential bills as a result.
How cutting universal credit will affect families
5.5m
Number of families facing a £1,040-a-year cut to their incomes
0.5m
Additional people pulled into poverty, including 200,000 children
60%
Proportion affected by the cut that are working families
400
Constituencies where more than one in three working families with children will be hit
66%
Proportion of people on universal credit either in work or unable to work
1.7m
Number of people unable to work who will have their incomes cut
78%
Proportion of households on universal credit that say food will be harder to afford after cut
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