Campaigners have thrust the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) into the spotlight again. Because on Saturday 6 February, Universal Credit was the subject of a day of online action.
DWP and the Treasury: at war
In April 2020, the DWP increased the rate of Universal Credit by around £20 a week. But ever since then, uncertainty has existed over what will happen this April. Since the Tories are ending this increase, people will see a £20 per week cut to their payments.
Chaos has ensued in government. At first, Sunak talked about giving Universal Credit claimants a one-off, £500 payment. Then, he was allegedly thinking about making this £1,000. But the DWP boss Thérèse Coffey ‘slapped down‘ Sunak’s idea. She said it was not her department’s “preferred approach”, but without saying what the DWP’s answer would be.
So the Tories are leaving claimants anxious and waiting. And several campaign groups have decided to voice their concerns via social media.
#20More4All
Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), Homes For All, and People Before Profit are grassroots campaign groups. They set up an online day of action on 6 February. The groups asked people to use #20More4All and #NoCutsToBenefits to post on social media why the government needs to sort this. And so, people did:
Support #DayOfAction called by @Dis_PPL_Protest, @Homes4AllUK and #PeopleBeforeProfit, @worker_group.
Say NO to the proposed £20 per week cut to #UniversalCredit
Fight for £20 more for claimants on legacy benefits#20More4All#EndInequality#EndPoverty#StopTheCuts#SaveLives pic.twitter.com/fFj8Ny67vj
— LADP #NHS #ScrapUC #WelfareRebellion #Rebel4Life (@LoveDaisyPetals) February 6, 2021
A decent govt would not force disabled people to go online to fight for a £20 increase that others are getting already. They would have rectified the error months ago and apologised #20More4All #NoCutsToBenefits pic.twitter.com/RBhofSCAMT
— Ben Claimant 💚 Join a Union (@BenClaimant) February 6, 2021
Other groups got involved:
Day of action #20More4All #NoCutsToBenefits Well done @paulapeters2 and everyone with your window posters #ScrapUniversalCredit pic.twitter.com/Q1pYZnqPDP
— WinVisible (women with disabilities) (@WinVisibleWomen) February 6, 2021
To #EndTheDebtTrap we need benefits that are enough to live on.
We support @Dis_PPL_Protest & @worker_group campaign to keep the £20 uplift to #UniversalCredit.
Long-term we want UC scrapped as it is pushing people into poverty and debt.#20More4All #NoCutsToBenefits pic.twitter.com/CFR14XR9JS
— Unfair Debt Group – Tower Hamlets (@UnfairDebtGroup) February 6, 2021
Women are coming to us in desperate financial need with all #UniversalCredit money spent on rent. In 2019 the Work & Pensions Committee report linked problems with UC to an increase in survival sex. #20More4All #NoCutsToBenefits #StopAndScrapUniversalCredit #ScrapUniversalCredit pic.twitter.com/TF2k5oieI6
— English Collective of Prostitutes ♀️ 🏳️⚧️ (@ProstitutesColl) February 6, 2021
As did some MPs:
Today is @dis_ppl_protest Day of Action against the £20 UC cut.
The £20 uplift has been a lifeline to almost 7000 people in #CynonValley.
Instead of cutting the uplift, UK Government must now extend it to all those who receive legacy benefits: #20More4All #NoCutsToBenefits pic.twitter.com/cmNqUxRkNj
— Beth Winter (@BethWinterCynon) February 6, 2021
Spot on Ellen! https://t.co/u2DzP0LBu2
— Debbie Abrahams (@Debbie_abrahams) February 6, 2021
People also took the campaign into the real world. There were socially distanced demos up and down the UK. And the day of action showed other problems with our social security system too.
Systemic problems
#20More4All highlighted people who claim other social security. Because for around 1.5 million claimants of things like Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), the government hasn’t given any extra support at all during the pandemic. And the day of action also made a broader point. It’s that the social security system is not fit for purpose anyway.
Universal Credit was plagued by problems before coronavirus (Covid-19) hit. This led UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty Philip Alston to call it “Universal Discredit”. Things like the five-week wait for a first payment haven’t gone away because of coronavirus. In fact, some of the problems have become more widespread. For example, a study by the University of York found that:
Nearly two thirds (63 per cent) of those who claimed for Universal Credit (UC) between March and June [2020] are living on less than they are assessed to need due to deductions. …
Almost all of the deductions include repayments of an advance loan that claimants can take out while they wait five weeks before receiving their first payment.
Little has changed
On Sunday 7 February, the Observer reported that:
More than three in 10 people who began claiming universal credit after the start of the pandemic last year have acquired new debts, or seen their existing debts grow
Little has changed since early 2018, when DPAC said the government must ‘scrap’ Universal Credit. The major difference now is millions more people claim it. In the short term, the Tories need to fix the immediate problem of the £20 uplift. And in the long term, the whole social security system needs razing and redesigning.
Featured image via DPAC, Sky News – YouTube and Wikimedia
