Poorest families in Milton Keynes are set to lose £20 a week in Universal Credit

West Bletchley councillor Nigel Long is urging for the payment to be kept in place to stop MK families from falling into more poverty.

The government introduced the extra weekly sum at the start of the Covid pandemic in March. It applied to all new and existing Universal Credit claimants and to existing Working Tax Credit claimants.

But now it has been announced the payments will stop and Cllr Long has slammed this as unfair.

"In Milton Keynes all neighbourhoods have at least one child in ten living in poverty, and in some areas the figure is as high as 40 per cent. To reduce Universal Credit is bad news for low income families," he said.

"The economy needs to grow and come out of recession. What we need is to do is protect the extra £20 per week for people on Universal Credit. We should all be working together fighting Covid-19 and poverty...Milton Keynes families deserve better."

In the late 1980s, Cllr Long was involved in establishing a local campaign in Milton Keynes to fight a range of Welfare Benefit and social care changes introduced by the then Tory government of Mrs Thatcher.

"We were opposing privatisation of care homes, under funding of social care and harsh changes to the welfare benefits system. Thirty years on the UK is in a deep recession, and the coronavirus storm continues to rage on. As unemployment rises the number of people on Universal Credit nationally has risen from 3 million to nearly 6 million. The numbers in Milton Keynes continue to grow. The Benefit remains difficult to claim and delays are still too long hurting low income families."

Before the £20 increase there had been no benefit rise for Universal Credit claimants for five years, said Cllr Long.

"So the income of some of the poorest households had been cut in real terms over the last five years," he said.

"Citizens Advice Bureau has highlighted that 75 per cent of the people they see with debt problems will no longer be able to cover their living costs.

Nationally, over 50 organisations including Shelter, Barnardo’s and Oxfam are calling for the Covid-19 Universal Credit increases to be kept in place to stop 700,000 people falling into poverty.

"They have said it is “unbelievable” that the government would consider cutting the benefit which will hit the poorest households in Milton Keynes."