A Tory welfare boss has been criticised for saying that those facing a devastating £20 a week cut in Universal Credit next month should work more hours.
The government is facing huge objections to its plans to remove the £20 uplift in Universal Credit in October, with its own analysis warning it is likely to lead to a surge in homelessness and food bank use.
Despite this, Thérèse Coffey, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions today said she was 'entirely happy' to be pushing ahead with the cut to six million people's benefits.
Read more: Exact date tens of thousands in Liverpool will see their income drop
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, she was asked about the huge impact the removal of the £20 lifeline will have on people at a time when so many are struggling.
And she appeared to suggest that the uplift could be replaced if people work more hours each week.
She said: "£20 a week is about two hours extra work every week, we will be seeing what we can do to help people secure those extra hours and also to make sure they are in a place to get better paid jobs as well."
The comments have prompted anger - with many pointing out that the minister has not understood how her own department's benefits system actually works.
Many pointed out that under Universal Credit, for every £1 earned, a claimant actually loses 63 pence in benefit contributions.
This would mean that for every extra pound a person on Universal Credit earns, they would actually only gain 37 pence - and that is before National Insurance and pension contributions.
Others pointed out that around 40% of Universal Credit claimants are in work - with many working long hours to try and make ends meet.
This includes people in social care who are often on minimum wage and working exhausting hours to try and keep up with increasing demand.
The Universal Credit £20 a week uplift was brought in at the start of the pandemic - and while the government says it was always supposed to be a temporary measure, many say now is precisely the wrong time to remove it, with so many families still struggling.
Speaking about the looming cut, Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne said: ""I’m terrified of what this inhumane decision will do to 6 million people across the UK affected by the biggest cut to the social security safety net since its creation.
"It will send millions into poverty including over 500,000 children, what type of Chancellor does this to low income families struggling to recover from the Pandemic?
"With just under a quarter of my constituency claiming Universal Credit, the loss of the uplift will have devastating consequences.
"We know Covid has impacted the lowest income families the most so this targeting of these people who have suffered the most by the richest politician in Parliament is beyond contempt."
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