As many as 10,610 hard-pressed families across Eastbourne face being left worse off when the government ends the uplift to Universal Credit next month.
New data from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation exposes the true nature of how badly some areas will be hit by the £20 Universal Credit cut, which is opposed by Eastbourne & Willingdon Liberal Democrats.
In the report and across the country, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimate that the Universal Credit cut alone could force 500,000 people, almost half of them children, into poverty. Their breakdown shows that some 10,610 families in Eastbourne will be harmed by the government’s uplift cut, with 5,400 families with children in Eastbourne being affected adversely.
Responding to the data, David Tutt, Liberal Democrat Leader of the Council said:
“Eastbourne has had to pull itself through this pandemic, while dealing with this incompetent heartless Conservative government, this cut will do untold damage to so many of our local families.
“There is no question that Government has to reverse this needless cut and support normal working people here. Eastbourne’s Liberal Democrats are calling for the Universal Credit uplift to be made permanent.”
Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions Spokesperson Wendy Chamberlain MP added:
“Just as we begin to hope that Covid is being tamed in the UK, the Government is ripping support from millions of families across the country. We cannot have a full recovery if families are struggling to make ends meet.
“The Prime Minister’s claim that he wants people to live by their own ‘efforts’ rather than ‘welfare’ shows how out of touch he really is. With almost half of those receiving Universal Credit already in work and with many having young families, this cut will leave parents and their children behind despite their efforts.”