{"id":18381,"date":"2019-07-05T09:00:47","date_gmt":"2019-07-05T08:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=18381"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:56:02","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:56:02","slug":"universal-credit-holiday-hunger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=18381","title":{"rendered":"‘The whole thing is a nightmare’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Universal Credit is forcing families into debt as they struggle to feed their children and cover the costs of childcare, MPs this week were told.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In a parliamentary hearing on holiday poverty<\/a> on Wednesday (July 3), desperate parents explained how Universal Credit \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the Tory government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s flagship welfare reform that combines six benefits into one \u00e2\u20ac\u201c has created a perverse system where they must choose between going to work or be slammed with extortionate childcare fees plunging them into debt.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Of the countless design flaws in Universal Credit is the requirement that families pay for childcare upfront, and then claim the cost back afterwards.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nicola Salvato, a mother and Universal Credit claimant, explained how outside of term time, her childcare costs skyrocket.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m working, so my child is being looked after during the summer holidays,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had to reduce my working hours to manage the upfront costs for childcare. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve still got to come up with, for August, about \u00c2\u0141750 on top of my rent, food, travel costs and all of that.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Another parent giving evidence, Karen Rotheram, said of Universal Credit, \u00e2\u20ac\u0098the whole thing is a nightmare\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As she struggled to cover the cost of childcare, she told of how the Job Centre questioned why she didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t simply allow her 12-year-old child to look after her nine-year-old child.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI think [it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s] absolutely ridiculous because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still a child himself,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe all want to work, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think we get the help. They don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t explain things to you. They just say: \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Look for work, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s your job, bye.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mother Dawn Taplin of Birkenhead told MPs how she was forced onto Universal Credit after her circumstances changed. As the system works now, even the slightest change such as a new address or mobile number, means they must move from legacy benefits onto Universal Credit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s when the \u00e2\u20ac\u0098nightmare\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 only just begins, Dawn explained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey told me to wait six weeks for the money,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhile I was waiting they told me to go to the food bank because I have a nine-year-old son to feed and I just started work so I had to wait a month for my wages.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Practically destitute, she went to her local \u00e2\u20ac\u0098One Stop Shop\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 where people access council services to get a voucher for a foodbank \u00e2\u20ac\u201c only to be told she needed to provide bank statements evidencing her need.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She was also told by the Job Centre that she could get a \u00c2\u0141900 loan to bridge the gap as she waited six weeks for her first Universal Credit payment \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but\u00c2\u00a0because it was only\u00c2\u00a0a loan, she would have to pay back \u00c2\u0141100 each month afterwards.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bStraightaway you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in debt,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she explained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“There’s always cereal”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

All parents who gave evidence at this week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s joint Work and Pensions and Education committee hearing told of how they struggled to feed their children, and in the process how they themselves often had to go without.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When Work and Pensions committee chair Frank Field asked whether over the holidays they had enough feed themselves after they fed their children, one mother said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always cereal isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t there?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The panel of parents likewise said they depended heavily on community centres over the summer for food and other forms of support.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t survive without them,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Dawn told MPs. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey are our backbone.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘Solidarity not charity’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A Unite Community branch in Norfolk has become part of this backbone in Norwich, where for the second year running it will provide free packed lunches for children in one of the most deprived wards in the country.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Last summer, the project provided more than 400 lunches<\/a> on a first-come, first-serve basis \u00e2\u20ac\u201c no questions asked as long as children were accompanied by an adult (pictured). And this year, explains Unite Community Norfolk branch secretary Brian Green, they plan to double this figure.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So far, the project which also operates over other school holidays such as Christmas and Easter, has given out nearly 1200 meals.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUniversal Credit, which was introduced in the area last October, has really hit the area hard,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Brian explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn concert with our lunch clubs, our Unite Community branch has recognised that we must also lobby politically to change the system that creates the need for these lunches in the first place. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why our slogan is \u00e2\u20ac\u0098solidarity not charity\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it means helping our communities while we try to change the conditions politically.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, the branch is campaigning for two key demands to tackle holiday hunger \u00e2\u20ac\u201c for government funding to be provided so that free school meals continue over the school holidays, or alternatively for benefits payments to be raised to compensate parents for the loss of free school meals.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Commenting on Tuesday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Parliamentary hearing, Brian pointed out that every single one of the parents giving evidence were all in employment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUniversal Credit is not only an attack on the unemployed but also increasingly an attack on workers in receipt of tax credits or in-work credits — with a view to reducing these benefits by forcing claimants to work additional hours,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Brian told UniteLive. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bEither way the ultimate aim of Universal Credit is to reduce the benefit bill no matter the consequences. Any talk of ending austerity is a mirage.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stop and scrap call<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Nationally, Unite Community will hold a day of action on August 1 with the call to stop and scrap Universal Credit. The theme of this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s annual day of action against Universal Credit is holiday hunger, an issue so poignantly highlighted by parents at this week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s parliamentary hearing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Commenting, Unite Community national co-ordinator Liane Groves said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bHeart-breaking testimony from struggling families on the frontline of the Universal Credit shambles illuminates just how cruel and dysfunctional the system is.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bParticularly during the holidays, hunger is foisted onto innocent children whose parents are being plunged into debt, rent arrears and forced to turn to food banks. The flaws in the system are simply too huge to rectify. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why we at Unite Community are campaigning for Universal Credit to be scrapped entirely and replaced with a social security system that provides enough for people to live on and that treats people fairly and with dignity. We ask everyone to join our national day of action in August to send the message loud and clear.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Find out more about Unite Community\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s national campaign against Universal Credit, and how you can take part here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Universal Credit is forcing families into debt as they struggle to feed their children and cover the costs of childcare, MPs this week were told.   In a parliamentary hearing on holiday poverty on Wednesday (July 3), desperate parents explained how Universal Credit \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the Tory government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s flagship welfare reform that combines six benefits into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16033,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[1004,462],"wps_subtitle":"Desperate parents on Universal Credit struggling over summer holidays","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18381"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18381"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25156,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18381\/revisions\/25156"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}