During the Pandemic, the universal credit uplift of £20 a week provided a lifeline to countless people who would otherwise have had to rely on a food bank.  

In many cases (but not all) this tiny increase in benefits ensured parents didn’t have to skip meals to save enough money to feed their children or pay their rent. Without it, many will end up in debt – reliant on credit cards to survive.    

“For me, the extra £20 a week means I can finally afford to feed my children properly, especially during the holidays. I don’t know how I will get by without it – especially over winter when I will have to pay for heating too.” Sufra Food Bank guest.

Shockingly, the uplift is due to be withdrawn at the end of September 2021, further impoverishing 3.4 million children – unless we raise our voices to #KeepTheLifeline.  

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40% of those who walk through our doors, hungry and embarrassed, are already in receipt of all the benefits they are entitled to, and they still can’t make ends meet. Some of the worst affected will be the ‘working poor’, who rely on the uplift to top-up meagre salaries – often whilst juggling multiple jobs.  

There can be little doubt that the benefits system is wholly inadequate and doesn’t provide sufficient income for families who rely on it to survive. Now that we are experiencing an unprecedented recession, the situation will only get worse if this cut goes through – especially over winter when heating and electricity bills also escalate.   

So, we are asking everyone we know – the guests we support with food aid, our amazing volunteers, and even our donors, to join the UK’s #KeepTheLifeline campaign to stop this reduction in Universal Credit.  

We need your voice to make the UK government listen. 

Please click on the link below to send an email to your MP to ask them to keep the £20 uplift. It only takes 1 minute to do – and it’s a very effective way to raise your voice in support of those who experience systematic inequality and injustice.  

 https://www.turn2us.org.uk/about-us/Our-Campaigns/20-cut-campaigning-tool 

“As we look to rebuild our society, ‘level up’ and ‘build back better’, it would make no sense at all to weaken social security support by cutting £20 a week from Universal Credit this October.” Joseph Rowntree Foundation 

#KeepTheLifeline