80% say Universal Credit cut behind financial fears for next year

2 mins read

Monday 20 September 2021

Almost one in three parents of disabled children expects their financial situation to get worse over the next 12 months.

And of those parents who claimed Universal Credit in the last 12 months, 80% put it down to the end of the £20 Covid uplift, which the government will cut at the end of this month.

We surveyed more than 4,000 UK families about their financial situation as part of our flagship Counting the Costs campaign. The full campaign will launch soon – join our campaign to be the first to find out when it does.

The government introduced the £20-a-week Universal Credit uplift as a response to the Covid pandemic and argues that it was always a temporary measure. But alongside other charities and campaigners, Contact thinks that the cut to an already-low benefit will cause huge damage to families struggling with a situation that is still ongoing. 100,000 families with disabled children moving onto Universal Credit already face losing more than £1,800 a year as a result of the 50% cut to the child disability payment.

A non-binding vote in the House of Commons last week saw a motion to abandon the cut pass by 253 votes to zero.

Join our Counting the Costs campaign and add your voice to calls for a fairer Covid recovery for carers.

Need advice?

If you are worried about how the cut to the £20 to Universal Credit might affect you, please seek advice by visiting our webpage or calling our specialist helpline.

Want to speak out?

Email your local MP and tell them how the £20 cut will affect you and your disabled child. You can find you can find your local MP here:  Find your MP – MPs and Lords – UK Parliament

Please let our campaign manager know if you decide to write to your MP or if you are interested in speaking out in other ways – email [email protected]

Join our Counting the Costs campaign and add your voice to calls for a decent home for every disabled children.