National homelessness charity Crisis has revealed that in England over 100,000 low-income renters on Universal Credit will be at risk of eviction because of the planned £20 cut next week.

It said in a statement its analysis of government data revealed that in England over 100,000 low-income renters on Universal Credit will be at least two or more months behind on their rent when the planned £20 cut comes in, raising fears that thousands will be at risk of being pushed into homelessness as they struggle to keep their heads above water.

It says the move “will hit struggling households amid rapidly soaring energy prices, a freeze on housing benefit which isn’t keeping up with rising rents in most parts of the country and the possibility of further redundancies in the wake of the Government’s furlough scheme ending today”.

Jon Sparkes, Crisis Chief Executive, said: “For many struggling renters this cut could be the final blow that forces them from their homes. 
 
“We know that when people have somewhere stable to live, they are in a better position to find work, build their careers and contribute to the economy as it re-opens. Taking this vital lifeline away risks undermining all of this.”  

Meanwhile Citizens Advice has warned that the Universal Credit cut “will leave 1.5 million workers in hardship”, and that it is “anticipating a surge in families seeking its support as rising energy prices and higher living costs are compounded by the cut”.

'Heartless decision'

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Southampton Labour Party said that the move would make more than 29,000 families £240 worse off by Christmas, and the leader of the Labour group Cllr Kaur urged local politicians to “unite” and persuade the prime minister to reverse the “heartless decision” by signing a joint letter opposing the move.

But, reported the LDRS, while Conservative leader of the council Cllr Fitzhenry said that the authority is working on a number of initiatives aimed at supporting local families, he added: “We won’t be signing the letter but we are doing everything we can to support those that need it.”

Cllr Fitzhenry stressed that the council will be freezing council tax and has scrapped evening parking charges.

'Temporary uplift'

He told the LDRS: “It was a temporary uplift and the government are trying to balance the finances post-Covid. Now we are coming out of Covid and we have to get our public finances in order and equally our city can do a lot to help people. We are doing an awful lot of work to get people back into work which is the way out of this.”

 By bitternepark.info and Maria Zaccaro, Local Democracy Reporter

 Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash