Almost 16,000 people in West Lothian will be hit this month with the cutback of the £20 uplift in Universal Credit.
The cut in the amount given to claimants each week comes into force on Wednesday. It means those on Universal Credit - which is paid monthly - will lose £80 a month.
A meeting of West Lothian Council last week agreed to a composite motion by both the minority Labour group and opposition SP councillors to write to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak, urging him to reintroduce the payment.
The £20 uplift, which amounts to just over £1,000 a year, was introduced during the lockdown last year. Politicians of all stripes, including many senior Conservatives nationally, have been urging a rethink on its removal.
In West Lothian, as at 12 August, there were approximately 15,800 families in receipt of Universal Credit - a figure up 200 on July this year. Since the roll-out of the new benefit in 2019 the council has experienced difficulties in rent collection and seen a surge in people through the doors of the Advice shops as the numbers of people in debt has risen.
The benefit takes at least five weeks to be paid meaning that almost all who receive it are plunged into debt before first payments are made.
Universal credit is claimed by more than 5.8 million people in England, Scotland and Wales.
Almost 40% of them are classed as being in employment.
The charity Citizens Advice has warned that a third of people on Universal Credit will end up in debt when the extra payment is removed.
It said the average shortfall would be between £51 and £55 a month.
In her original motion to the council, the SNP member for Livingston South Moira Shemilt said: “These intended cuts are cruel and will have a devastating effect on the most vulnerable in our communities, particularly the children in one parent families. Many in our West Lothian communities, mostly women, could fall into extreme poverty as the country faces the steepest rise in destitution as a result of Brexit, Covid-19 and unemployment.”
The Labour motion highlighted additional funds set aside to cope with the expected demand on people facing a winter of struggle This includes an extra £1m for the Scottish Welfare Fund, £600,000 to help people struggling to put food on the table and money to help with school uniforms and school dinners.
There is also money for welfare rights officers for targeted intervention in Whitburn, Broxburn and Livingston to help families develop financial resilience.
After the meeting. The council leader, Lawrence Fitzpatrick said: “West Lothian Council’s Advice Shop is here to help and would urge anyone who is affected by the removal of the uplift to get in touch, we can offer benefit checks to help maximise income, provide debt & budgeting advice as well as energy efficiency advice. We can also check to ensure that all other financial support has been claimed.”
The Advice Shop can be contacted on 01506 283000, or online at advice.shop@westlothian.gov.uk.
