A STRUGGLING mum-of-four fears the end of the Universal Credit uplift could leave her kids on the streets.
Ellen, 39, is one of six million set to see their £20 weekly benefits boost – granted to help claimants through the pandemic – scrapped in just weeks.
She told Sky News: “For me to pay my bills, it’s going be very hard.
“Maybe [the government] might think the £20 is nothing – it’s a big deal for us. It does help us through.
“It might help a lot even sometimes buying a week’s milk for the kids, bread for the kids, it does help a lot.
“So with that £20 taken off, I think a lot of families are going to be struggling.”
The mum, from Byker, Newcastle, also worries her children may end up surrounded by the wrong crowds if she can’t provide for them.
“The kids, if they don’t get what they are supposed to have at home they end up [in the streets].
“We keep on struggling, we keep on trying to cope.”
The Universal Credit uplift was first announced shortly after Covid hit.
It was designed to help people through the difficult financial time after the number of people claiming UC shot up to six million due to the pandemic.
It increased monthly UC payments from £317.82 to £409.89 for a single Universal Credit claimant who is 25 or older.
The temporary boost was expected to last for 12 months, but this was extended as lockdown restrictions continued.
Claimants will continue to receive the additional funds until September 30, but the exact date the payment will end will depend on the day they get their UC payments.
CREDIT CUT
Campaign groups, such as Citizens Advice, Turn2Us and Stepchange, have warned that removing the uplift would push thousands of families further into debt as losses will add up to £1,040 a year.
Some MPs have also called for the government to rethink its decision.
A government spokesperson said: “As announced by the chancellor at the Budget, the uplift to Universal Credit was always temporary.
“It was designed to help claimants through the economic shock and financial disruption of the toughest stages of the pandemic, and it has done so.”
