Universal Credit claimants 'very likely' to skip meals when £20 uplift is scrapped

The Government is expected to cut Universal Credit by £20 a week from October which The Trussell Trust says will have a "devastating impact".

The charity, which supports more than 1,300 food banks across the country, has today published research conducted on its behalf by YouGov.

Further to the one fifth of claimants saying they are likely to need to skip meals when the cut hits, which the trust says represents 110,000 people, another one in five of people surveyed, representing 129,000 people, told researchers they would struggle to heat their homes this winter if their income is slashed in October.

The Trussell Trust’s chief executive Emma Revie is urging the public to write to local MPs calling on them to take action and keep the £20-a-week lifeline.

“Cutting this lifeline will be a devastating blow for thousands of people across the West Midlands already struggling to make ends meet," she said.

"These are families already caught in impossible situations who worry every day about switching on the heating and feeding their children.

"Families who are nearly at breaking point but just about managing to keep their heads above water.

“This research reveals the shocking consequences of what lies ahead if this lifeline is cut in October.

"No one should have to suffer the indignity of not being able to afford the essentials in life – like food or heating.

"That’s why we’re saying it would be wrong of the UK government to take away £20 a week from already precarious incomes and push even more people through the doors of food banks.

“The answer must be to ensure our social security system provides people with enough money to cover the essentials.

"At the very least we’re saying this October, the UK government must choose to protect people and choose to keep the lifeline."