Concern is growing that support for Britain's poorest families could soon be withdrawn.
Boris Johnson refused to deny yesterday (January 13) he will be cutting Universal Credit by £20 a week in April.
Labour leader Keir Starmer and charity campaigners have urged the Prime Minister not to remove nearly a fifth of 5.7million people's basic allowance.
But the Prime Minister said he would "rather see a focus on jobs and a growth in wages than focusing on welfare", the Daily Record reports.
He went on to say “the best thing is to get people into employment"; even though in October, 39 per cent of the 5.7million people on Universal Credit already had a job.
In 2018/19, 14.5 million people were living in poverty across the UK - that's more than a fifth of the population.
Universal Credit increased by £1,040 for the 2020/21 financial year to help with the impact of coronavirus.
But it seems the UK Government may now be planning to cut the basic monthly allowance from £409.89 to £324.84 on April 12, 2021.
Any decision to keep the higher rate may only come in the Budget on March 3 and would add £6bn a year to public spending.
At the Commons Liaison Committee, Labour MP Stephen Timms urged the Prime Minister to keep the rise.
Mr Timms said thanks to the rise many claimants were finally able to shop at supermarkets again, rather than food banks.
The MP said: "Isn't it unfair leaving it until March before they find out whether that cut is going ahead?"
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Mr Johnson asserted that any final rate was still under review but he refused to answer calls to end the agony for families now.
He said: "I take your point. I think what we want to see is jobs. We want to see people in employment, we want to see the economy bouncing back.
“I think most people in this country would rather see a focus on jobs and a growth in wages than focusing on welfare.
"But clearly we have to keep all these things under review.”
The Prime Minister also brushed off calls to raise 'legacy' benefits for disabled people - which will rise 35p a week in April - to the same rate as Universal Credit.
He said: “We want everybody to move onto Universal Credit, it’s a successful system.”
