Over Three Quarters Of Universal Credit Recipients Go Without Essentials, Poll Shows
Most benefit recipients have gone without essentials in the last six month according to new polling. (Alamy)
3 min read
Over three quarters of benefits recipients have gone without essentials in the last six months, according to polling shared exclusively with PoliticsHome.
YouGov polling for the charity Trussell also showed that nearly one in five people (19 per cent) claiming Universal Credit (UC) and disability benefits used a food bank in the last month, with 43 per cent of skipping meals to keep up with other essential costs.
The survey of 1,209 people carried out between 21 January-3 February also found that a quarter of people receiving UC and disability benefits said they had to choose between paying for heating and food, or getting bedding in the last three months.
Over a third (37 per cent) told YouGov they weren't able to keep their home warm enough over winter.
More than half (56 per cent) said they had to cancel plans with families or friends in the last three months as they couldn't afford them.
Exactly a quarter said they had been unable to afford pain relief over the same period.
The findings come as the Labour government reportedly prepares to cut welfare payments in the upcoming spring statement so that Chancellor Rachel Reeves can stick to her fiscal rules.
Ministers are also under pressure to raise funds to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, several years earlier than previously planned, in light of the US president Donald Trump's plan to reduce military support for western allies.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is under pressure to stick to her fiscal rules at the upcoming spring statement (Alamy)
Head of Policy at Trussell, Sumi Rabindrakumar, said that while the benefits system "urgently needs reform", the charity's findings were "heartbreaking".
"Trussell’s heartbreaking new findings show that Universal Credit and disability benefits are failing to cover the cost of living, with 77 per cent of people receiving them having gone without the essentials in the last six months," said Rabindrakumar.
"Not only that, but one in five people have had to use a food bank. This should not be the case in one of the richest countries in the world."
She added: “We agree with the UK government that disability benefits urgently need reform. But balancing the books cannot come at the expense of people already having to survive on incredibly low incomes, and people with physical and mental ill health conditions.
"Our data shows that disabled people are far more likely to need support from a food bank, which likely reflects that life costs more for disabled people, with additional costs like therapies, treatments, specialist kit to help with day-to-day activities and paid care to think about on top of food, bills and toiletries."
Rabindrakumar also said welfare and disability benefit cuts "risk pushing even more people to the doors of food banks".
"Many disabled people are terrified of the prospect of cuts to disability benefits, which are already not enough to live on," she said.
"If the UK government is committed to its promise to end the need for emergency food, it must address underlying barriers to work and flaws in our social security system."
When asked about spending cuts on Wednesday, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said there had been a "huge rise in the welfare budget" and that current spending was "unsustainable".
"There's a moral case here for making sure that people who can work are able to work and there's a practical point here as well, because our current situation is unsustainable," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
On Thursday, the government announced that it was bringing forward plans to improve employment support ahead of wider welfare reform planned.
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