FURTHER grim news from the frontline of the UK Government’s war on benefit claimants emerges this week with the revelation that one in 15 of those on Universal Credit (UC) has had up to 40 per cent deducted from their payments to cover debts.
If that sounds unreasonable it is. Not just because the most likely cause of an overpayment is an error by someone at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Given the shambolic introduction of the benefit it is little surprise mistakes have been made.
And not just because 40 per cent is a huge amount of anyone’s income to have to allocate to paying off debts. But mainly because it is obvious the amount most households receive under UC is already insufficient for a tolerable standard of life.
The standard personal allowance for a single adult over the age of 25 is £317.82 per calendar month. After a 40% deduction of £127.13 this leaves a payment £190.69 to live on for the month. Housing costs are additional, but everything else has to come out of £44 a week.
There are always those – usually comfortably off themselves – who say they could readily do it. But could you? Food, fuel, transport?
You could do without a car, but will need cash for public transport - particularly to benefit interviews and job seeking appointments. You may get council tax benefits but still need to pay water charges. Is the phone an essential? Is the internet? Do you have childcare costs? You could shop only at budget supermarkets. Do you want a television? You won’t be able to afford cable, or Netflix. Can you afford a license anyway? £12.50 a month.
Let’s hope the washing machine doesn’t break, or the bed, or that you need new shoes. I saw a professor once suggest that it was possibly for a single person to eat nutritiously on £12 a week – but that was five years ago and I didn’t believe it then. But maybe you’ll qualify for the food bank.
The truth is benefit rates even if paid in full leave claimants below the poverty line. They are not sufficient for what most of us would deem a reasonable quality of life. A TV is arguably a luxury – but without it you are cut off from a sizeable chunk of our common culture. You’re not going to be affording many cinema or theatre tickets. A mobile phone is more or less essential, particularly if you are supposed to be finding work. A pet? Hard to justify. But it is miserable to be denied every pleasure that everyone around you takes for granted.
According to the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, the figures suggest deductions are considerably higher under UC than they were under previous systems, causing many Scots financial hardship. Such cuts to benefits are having a significant impact on Scottish families on low incomes according to Citizen’s Advice Scotland.
The DWP says less than one in 200 claims has total deductions of more than 40%. It also says rent or fuel costs are allowed for, in order to “protect claimant welfare”. That’s simply disingenuous. as benefits rates already undermine that welfare, attempting to starve people into work with sanctions and cuts.
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