The Trussell Trust has today published new research, showing the stark consequences of the inadequacy of Universal Credit across the UK. The anti-poverty charity is urging the government to take urgent action in the upcoming budget, to provide immediate relief for people facing hunger ahead of another difficult winter.
- 68% of working households in receipt of Universal Credit have gone without essentials in the last six months.
- Almost half (48%) of people claiming Universal Credit ran out of food in the last month and did not have enough money to buy more.
- The charity estimates that 1.6 million people claiming Universal Credit have needed to use a food bank in the last 12 months.
- Just over two fifths (46%) of people claiming Universal Credit are either behind on bills and credit commitments or are finding it a constant struggle to keep up with them.
Work is also not providing a reliable route out of hardship, with 68% of working households in receipt of Universal Credit having gone without essentials, such as basic toiletries and prescriptions, in the last six months. This is only slightly lower than the level among people receiving Universal Credit who are not in work (79%). Additionally, nearly a quarter (23%) of people receiving the payment said their financial situation has impacted on their ability to find or go to work in the last three months. The charity says this is likely down to being unable to afford fuel or public transport costs.
The design of the social security system means that many people have to take out loans from the government to cover the five-week wait for Universal Credit, which leads to deductions being taken from their payments. Currently, almost a third (32%) of people claiming Universal Credit who are subject to benefit deductions are having to repay an advance payment, that was taken to cover the five-week wait.
Deductions play a significant role in driving people into deeper and deeper hardship. Just over half of people (53%) facing deductions from their payments shared they were experiencing hunger but didn’t have enough money for food, significantly higher than the number of people on Universal Credit but not facing deductions (32%).
Many people who claim Universal Credit do not think their current situation will improve going dforwards, with four in ten (40%) people receiving the payment expecting their ability to afford day-to-day necessities to get worse in the next three months.
Additionally, over two fifths of people claiming Universal Credit (46%) are currently facing a constant struggle or having real financial problems in keeping up with their bills and credit commitments, and almost a fifth (18%) are currently behind with their gas or electricity bills. Nearly seven in ten (69%) people receiving Universal Credit are having to borrow money or use credit to tide them over.
Around 1.3 million (18%) people claiming Universal Credit are estimated to have been at risk of homelessness in the last 12 months, and the research reveals the lack of support available for people experiencing this level of hardship. Just over two thirds (68%) of people claiming Universal Credit who were at risk of homelessness in the last 12 months, stated that they did not receive any support from their local authority. Almost two thirds (63%) of people living in privately rented homes said that the shortfall between benefits and their housing costs is impacting their ability to afford other day to day costs.
Emma Revie, Chief Executive of the Trussell Trust, said: This research lays bare the stark truth about the current crisis of hardship across the UK. The inadequacy of Universal Credit means that people are being pushed to the doors of food banks because they simply do not have enough money for food. These findings show clearly that people cannot wait for an economic turnaround to improve their current situations.
With the five-week wait and government loans pushing people into debt before they've even begun receiving Universal Credit, many people are facing an uphill struggle from the outset, exacerbated by the inadequacy of the support they eventually receive.
We urge the government to prioritise providing immediate relief to people facing hunger and hardship in the upcoming budget, as well as ensuring vital services continue to be provided in local communities. Food banks are facing another difficult winter, and the government must act now to avoid people being pushed further into hardship.”
Jane Baker, Project Lead, Newcastle-Staffs Foodbank said: “Many of the people we support at Newcastle-Staffs Foodbank are in receipt of Universal
Credit. We are here to provide emergency food and support to people in our community, but we are increasingly seeing people in need because Universal Credit simply doesn’t provide enough to cover the essentials. In the words of one person who needed our help “By week 3, things are tight, by week 4, there is nothing left”. Ahead of another difficult winter, we need urgent action from the government to provide immediate relief for those facing hardship in our community.”
Layla, who has needed the support of food banks said: “I had to stop working due to my health, but then my disability payments were stopped. It
didn’t make sense, because my conditions hadn’t changed but as a knock-on effect the rest of my benefits were reduced drastically. I could just about cover my housing and bills, but it wouldn’t stretch to food.
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
- The research is based on:
- an online survey by YouGov on behalf of the Trussell Trust of 2,077 adults (16+) currently claiming Universal Credit. Fieldwork was undertaken 29 July
– 23 August 2024. The figures have been weighted by length of time of claiming Universal Credit, marital/ parental status, gender, region, age, and work status and are representative of all UK adults claiming Universal Credit. - All weighting data for the survey of people claiming Universal Credit was provided by the Trussell Trust from Stat-Xplore.
- Estimates of the number of people are the Trussell Trust’s own analysis. Estimates of the number of people claiming Universal Credit are calculated by taking Department for Work and Pensions data from Stat-Xplore on the number of people aged 16+ claiming Universal Credit in Great Britain in June 2024 and data from the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland in February 2024 and multiplying by the survey results, accessed 7th August 2024. These figures do not include children.
- The total number of people aged 16+ in Great Britain claiming Universal Credit in June 2024 was 6,896,989. In Northern Ireland in February 2024 there were 170,320 people claiming Universal Credit.
- Working households are defined as households where the survey participant reported that they and/or a member of the survey participants household are either working full-time, part-time or is self-employed. The sample size for working households claiming Universal Credit is 1,111. Other detailed information on question wording and results available from the Trussell Trust on request.