Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Will Quince and Allan Dorans

Monday 17th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Hannah Bardell (Livingston) (SNP)]

What recent assessment she has made of the potential effect of removing the £20 uplift to universal credit on recipients of that benefit.

[Allan Dorans (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (SNP)]

What recent assessment she has made of the potential effect of removing the £20 uplift to universal credit on recipients of that benefit.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Will Quince)]

Since the start of the pandemic, the Government’s priority has been to protect lives and people’s livelihoods. In March, the Government announced that we were extending the temporary £20-a-week increase in universal credit for a further six months. It is right that the Government should now shift our focus to supporting people back into work, and we have a comprehensive plan for jobs to help us to achieve this.

--- Later in debate ---

[Allan Dorans]

The Trussell Trust reports that hunger in the United Kingdom is not about access to food, but about low incomes from the social security safety net, revealing that 95% of people referred to food banks in early 2020 were living in destitution, with just £248 a month on average to survive on after housing costs. Does the Minister recognise that removing the £20 uplift to universal credit later this year will only push more families into hardship and deprivation across the United Kingdom?

[Will Quince]

No one in this House wants to see anyone in this country reliant on a food bank, and the Secretary of State and I are working across Government to identify and tackle the root causes of food insecurity and poverty. In the meantime, we continue to spend over £100 billion a year on benefits for working-age people, and during the pandemic we have pumped an additional £7.4 billion into our welfare system to support those facing the most financial disruption. But I hope the hon. Gentleman will agree that it is right that we now shift our focus to supporting people back into work, because all evidence suggests that work is the best route out of poverty, and we have a comprehensive plan to do this via our £30 billion plan for jobs.