Chancellor Rishi Sunak Announces Paltry Rise in Benefits For April and No Decision Regarding The Universal Credit Uplift

BENEFITS UPLIFT - Benefit rates will rise by just 0.5 per cent next year in what critics have described as a “deeply disappointing” and “pitiful” inflation-driven uplift.

The Department for Work and Pensions did not say whether the £20-a-week Universal Credit uplift would last beyond April 2021 but said it would “continue to assess how best to support low-income families”.

Dr. William Bird MBE, Intelligent Health Ltd ‘Mental ill health is the single largest cause of disability in the UK, with the annual economic cost in England estimated at £105.3 billion each year through costs of services, lost productivity, and reduced quality of life’,

The stress of this uncertainty could bring on a wave of mental health issues. Landlords were already discriminating again tenants on Universal Credit and removing this £20-a-week Universal Credit could start a wave of evictions. It could well lead to civil unrest as happened with the 1990 poll tax riots. 

Extending the credit would cost £6billion, which in the great scheme of things is not a huge amount of money. 

ABC Note: The ABC is, along with many charities, lobbing the Chancellor Rishi Sunak.