Guarantee Our Essentials
When people are going without, it’s time to Guarantee Our Essentials.
Our social security system, like our NHS, should be there for us all when we need it most, but right now it’s not even providing enough to cover the cost of life’s essentials and it’s pushing people to food banks.
As we approach another difficult winter, our food banks cannot make up for the failures of a social security system that should be there to support any of us facing tough times.
You can help us call on the UK government to take urgent action in the upcoming budget and provide immediate relief for people facing hardship.
Ask your MP to write to the Chancellor, urging her to take three urgent actions to protect people facing hardship this winter.
We need an Essentials Guarantee
The basic rate of Universal Credit should at least cover the cost of essentials like food, household bills and travel, but it is not currently set according to any objective assessment of what people need.
This is only £91 a week for a single adult. That means there’s a significant shortfall between people’s living costs and their income, and it’s pushing people to food banks.
This is why we’re working with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to call for an Essentials Guarantee within Universal Credit, which means the basic rate at least covers life’s essentials and that support can never be pulled below that level.
Building our movement for change
Since launching the campaign we’ve been growing support for a social security system that protects people from going without the essentials.
- Food banks have been mobilising their local communities and building awareness of how Universal Credit is falling short.
- The general public have been taking action for a stronger social security system. Over 150,000 people signed our petition, and in the run-up to the General Election over 5,000 people urged their parliamentary candidates to sign our pledge, which urged them to use their voice if elected to advocate for changes to ensure our social security system protects people from needing a food bank to survive.
- A wide range of parties and policy makers have shown support for the policy and our building blocks to end the need for food banks.
- The anti-poverty sector and beyond stands with us in calling for a social security system that is fit for purpose.
Our collective voice has demonstrated that people in the UK are concerned about the rising levels of hardship in their communities. Now we need our new government to lay out how they’ll tackle this.
