Saturday, December 7

Tory MP: Universal Credit help still not enough


 

 

A Tory MP has suggested extra cash pumped into the welfare system by Philip Hammond will still not be enough to keep families out of poverty.

South Cambridgeshire MP Heidi Allen also questioned whether the chancellor’s extra spend on the government’s flagship Universal Credit programme would ease criticism of the benefits shake-up.

In his budget on Monday, Mr Hammond announced an extra £1bn over five years to help the roll out of Universal Credit, along with a £1,000 increase in the amount people can earn before losing benefits at a cost of £1.7bn per year.

The chancellor told MPs he recognised their genuine concerns about the system but stressed: Universal Credit is here to stay, and we are putting in the funding it needs to make it a success.

However, speaking in the House of Commons after Mr Hammond outlined his economic plans, Ms Allen told MPs of her worry that the announcements today will only fix the symptoms and not the cause.

She said: We need to be honest and really sort out Universal Credit by restoring all work allowances for families with children or disabilities, and we must deal with the five-week initial wait: that is what will keep families out of food banks.

Ms Allen, a prominent critic of the government’s handling of Universal Credit, welcomed the chancellor’s action on the welfare system changes.

But, she added: I fear it will still not be enough to keep Universal Credit out of the headlines, nor every family out of poverty.

Universal Credit seeks to combine six benefits into one payment and is aimed at simplifying the welfare system.

Critics say it is causing financial hardship for claimants and forcing them to turn to food banks.

Former Labour MP Frank Field, who now sits as an independent and is also chair of the Commons’ work and pensions committee, told MPs many had been massacred by Universal Credit.

Demanding further changes to the benefits system, Mr Field claimed the budget will do nothing for the growing number of MPs on both sides of the Commons who are troubled that their constituents are not only hungry but being pushed towards destitution.

Speaking after the budget, Labour’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell claimed the money Mr Hammond promised for Universal Credit is less than a third of the £7bn of social security cuts still to come and today’s announcement on work allowances reverses just over half the cuts made in 2015.

The Resolution Foundation claimed Mr Hammond had delivered a welcome boost to families on Universal Credit worth £630 a year.

The thinktank’s director Torsten Bell said: This will mean that the government’s flagship welfare reform is now more generous than the benefit system that it is replacing.

While today’s reforms certainly won’t end all the problems some recipients have faced with Universal Credit, they should ease the roll-out in the months and years ahead.

Sarah Wollaston was another Tory MP to voice criticism of the chancellor’s budget on Monday.

The Totnes MP questioned Mr Hammond’s decision to bring forward Conservative manifesto promises to raise the personal tax allowance and the higher rate income tax threshold by a year.

She posted on Twitter: I don’t think that changes to tax thresholds should have been a priority over tackling the challenges for our police, education & reducing health inequality through public health.