London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

Benefit cut will leave jobless families unable to live decently, research finds

Benefit cut will leave jobless families unable to live decently, research finds

Anti-poverty study’s findings pile pressure on ministers to retain £20 Universal Credit Covid uplift
The £20-a-week cut to universal credit in October will leave out-of-work families with children barely half the income needed to achieve a socially-acceptable basic standard of living, according to new research.

Many working families will also struggle to reach minimum income standards, it found, with a single parent in full-time work on the national living wage left £46 short each week – growing to £66 when the £20 universal credit uplift is removed.

Millions of UK families are living on incomes below what a cross-section of the public agreed was needed to live a basic decent life, taking into account a range of costs including food, clothes, technology, leisure and transport, the research found

The impact of cutting universal credit on ordinary families’ living standards will increase pressure on ministers to reconsider their autumn plans to remove the £20 uplift, originally introduced as a temporary Covid measure in April 2020. There is widespread opposition to the cut, including on the government’s backbenches.

“It would be a terrible mistake for ministers to … weaken universal credit further by going ahead with the planned £20-a-week cut this October, leaving millions of families unable to meet their needs,” said Iain Porter, a policy manager at the anti-poverty charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), which commissioned the research.

The annual minimum income standard, developed for the JRF by Loughborough University’s Centre for Research in Social Policy, tracks changing public notions of what a no-frills existence is, identifies what it costs, and measures how close to that benchmark different-sized households found themselves.

First undertaken in 2008, the research has found that, for example, a personal computer and internet access became seen as vital necessities for families rather than a luxury. A second-hand car became a basic must-have for families with children as public transport declined in many parts of the country.

Under the standard, a pensioner couple would need £191 a week to meet a minimum socially-acceptable standard of living (an annual income of £21,000). A single adult without children would need £213 a week (£20,400). A working-age couple with two children aged three and seven would need £482 a week (£34,200).

The 2021 report found that a couple with two children can achieve the minimum income standard if both parents work full-time on the national living wage – though it pointed out that in practice, in only a quarter of such families do both parents work full-time, mainly for childcare or health reasons.

Many families also face increasing living costs. A family with children saw living costs rise by 2.5% between 2020 and 2021, excluding rent and childcare. Childcare costs went up by 3-4% and council tax by an average of 4%. Excluding the £20 uplift, social security rates rose by just 0.5% this year.

Abigail Davis, one of the report’s authors, said: “As Covid constraints lift for many, it’s worth bearing in mind that for a lot of households the restrictions of not being able to go out, take kids to after-school activities or go on a family holiday remain, because those are the things people go without when there isn’t enough to make ends meet. Taking money away from low-income households will make it even harder for them to meet this standard of living.”

A government spokesperson said: “The temporary universal credit uplift was brought in to support those with the lowest incomes during the pandemic. Now that restrictions are ending it is right that the government should focus its support – through our multi-billion-pound plan for jobs – to help people learn new skills to progress in their career, increase their hours or find new work.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
×