620,000 more families claiming Universal Credit since the pandemic began

The figures indicate that more than a third of claims made since Universal Credit was introduced have been made during the coronavirus pandemic. There were 4.5 million claims for the benefit between 13th March 2020 and 14th January this year, this represents 39% of the 11.4 million claims made since Universal Credit was introduced in April 2013.

The latest quarterly figures take the total number of people on Universal Credit to 6 million, a 98% rise from March.

The latest available figures show there were 4.9 million households on Universal Credit in November 2020,  up 2.2 million since March of these, 85% (4.2 million) received a payment.

More than a third (37.5%) of the 4.9 million households are families with children and in November 2020, 1.8 million families with children were claiming Universal Credit. This is a rise of 620,000 families, or 51%.

Save the Children is urging the Government to extend the £20-per-week increase to Universal Credit, which is due to end in March, warning that many families will be forced to rely on food banks or into debt without it.

Claims have largely made a return to pre-pandemic levels following a spike at the beginning of the pandemic, with two weeks in spring seeing 10 times as many claims as usual.

The DWP said claims also rose in the weeks coinciding with the start of lockdowns in November and January. The figures show there were 75,000 claims in the first week of 2021, coinciding with the start of the January lockdown.

Becca Lyon, Head of Child Poverty at Save the Children, said “Struggling families have seen their household budgets stretched to the limit by the pandemic, and they will continue to feel the financial impacts of this crisis for some time.”

“Parents tell us that, even with the extra £20 a week, they’re having to make impossible choices – skipping meals, running up debts, or relying on charities and food banks to feed their children.”

“Our country’s safety net is supposed to help those who need it through difficult times. But instead of helping families to get back on their feet, we’re talking about taking over £1000 a year away from them during a pandemic.”

“Providing support for only another six months just won’t cut it. The increase to Universal Credit in March last year was a clear recognition by the UK government that people who had lost work during the pandemic needed extra financial support. Yet as furlough ends, hundreds of thousands of people will sadly lose their jobs over the next few months and will need a helping hand. It is this very group of people that the UK government deemed necessary to help less than a year ago, and yet it now plans to take this lifeline away from them at the very time they will need it the most.”

“The UK government must do the right thing and extend the £20 uplift for at least a year, to give families the chance to rebuild their lives and stop even more children growing up in poverty.”