‘Food banks first’ policy punishes people who earned their protection, says TUC

11 June 2015

Commenting on the government’s announcement today (Thursday) that it will ignore its expert advisory body the Social Security Advisory Committee and make all Universal Credit claimants wait seven days before they are entitled to any help with their housing, childcare or living costs, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:  

“The government should remember that people pay into their national insurance out of every pay cheque. They’ve earned their protection and should not have support withheld from them if bad luck strikes.

“People forced out of low-paid jobs by sickness or redundancy will not have savings to tide them over. So for the low-waged, waiting days will be hunger days, with food banks their only option. The public may support targeted efforts to deal with the minority who abuse benefits, but this looks more like collective punishment for people who have done nothing wrong.

“As Universal Credit will be paid a month in arrears, waiting days mean that many people who have lost their job must wait up to six weeks before they get any cash. And with child tax credit and housing benefit being rolled into Universal Credit, we could see whole families go hungry, get into debt and even made homeless because of the way the policy is being implemented.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- Full details of the government’s rejection of the advice of the Social Security Advisory Committee can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-universal-credit-waiting-days-amendment-regulations-2015-si-2015-no-1362-ssac-report

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews