Plans to axe an extension of increased Universal Credit payments have been branded “devastating” by West Dunbartonshire’s MP.
A heated vote in Westminster last week saw it warned that cutting the £20 increase in payments introduced during lockdown would see a two per cent rise in relative poverty by 2024/25 – meaning an additional 820,000 children would be expected to fall into poverty.
PM Boris Johnson said the government had provided £280bn worth of support during the pandemic but that all measures would be kept under “constant review.”
And West Dunbartonshire MP Martin Docherty-Hughes warned of the impact cutting the lifeline payments would have on people across Dumbarton and the Vale.
The SNP member said: “As West Dunbartonshire’s MP, I voted to oppose these cuts to Universal Credit because it would be devastating for local families to lose this vital financial support.
“£20 per week may not seem much to Boris Johnson and his Tory Cabinet, but it makes all the difference to many of my constituents in West Dunbartonshire struggling to get by just now.
“Across Clydebank, Dumbarton and the Vale there are 8,000 people who rely on Universal Credit, not including the thousands of others who haven’t received a penny of additional support.
“If the prime minister is serious about helping hard-hit households through the long-term economic impacts of the Covid crisis, he must act now to ensure the £20 uplift to Universal Credit is made permanent and extended to legacy benefits.”
