Single mothers with Universal Credit warned today that they would have trouble paying for their children’s food and school uniform if the £ 20-a-week bonus ends.
Persistent claimants told MPs the extra money as a “lifeline” fearing they would face “misery” if withdrawn within weeks.
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Single mom Gemma Widdowfield said the £ 20 a week increase was a lifeline
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Labor and Pension Minister Therese Coffey has resisted pressure to stayCredit: Alamy
In a speech in parliament, the five women warned that they could not afford basic things like heating bills.
Gemma Widdowfield, 35, said, “For me, the difference is whether I have the money to buy my child’s packed lunches or food, or pay an unexpected bill or pay for shoes – children grow out of shoes really quickly.
“That made all the difference instead of loading things onto a credit card and falling into debt again.”
Ministers have resisted pressure from activists – including footballer Marcus Rashford – to keep the recovery going.
Labor and Pensions Minister Therese Coffey last week declined calls from ministers in delegated powers to maintain the £ 20 increase.
Labor and Pensions Committee chairman Stephen Timms said the committee unanimously agreed that the cut should not go ahead.
One of the single mothers, Amina Nagawa, who left Uganda to come to England in 2000, said she was one of thousands of people unable to live on UC, calling each day a “nightmare”.
She added, “If the government removes our 20 yen increase, we will suffer even more.”
The Sun ran a “Make Universal Credit Work” campaign to help working families abandoned by chaotic adoption.
LIFELINE
Vikki Waterman, a treatment coordinator for private cosmetic dentistry in Durham, said she was initially “completely unaware” that she was receiving the increase or when it should end.
She said, “It’s not clear enough, it’s not loud enough, it’s more like a whisper, especially if they take it away – we should have been informed.
“The line I got on my Universal Credit Journal was like getting a line in your junk inbox.
“It wasn’t like a big email with the lights flashing upstairs, you know, you had to look for it.
“And I think a lot of people are still unaware that they got that.
“So they will be even less aware of the fact that this is part of their monthly income that is being taken away from them.”
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