Benefit payments should be determined by the actual cost of living, not the political fixations of Conservative ministers
When rough sleeping in England has risen by over a quarter, and schoolchildren are turning up with empty lunchboxes, ministers ought to be in emergency mode. Destitution, a word with Victorian associations, is increasingly common in Britain. Yet, aside from a patchwork of temporary support, the government’s solutions have been grimly predictable. Thousands of people on universal credit will soon be shifted to an “intensive work search” regime. The Department for Work and Pensions has announced a job centre league table that will pay £250 bonuses for getting people into work. The environment minister, Thérèse Coffey, suggested those struggling with food bills could simply work more hours.
Instead of supporting vulnerable people, successive ministers have been more interested in pushing benefit claimants into work by making the alternative as unattractive as possible. The current system neither incentivises full-time work nor protects people from falling below the minimum needed to survive. A zealous focus on work and stringent job-search requirements have forced many into low-paid, part-time “mini jobs”. Meanwhile, universal credit forces claimants to take on debt during the delay before their first payment. It has all but designed in deprivation.
