Press comment – for immediate release
Government’s small grant scheme ‘sticking plaster for a gaping wound’
In response to today’s government announcement of a new £500 million support fund for vulnerable households, Joe Cox, Senior Policy Officer at Jubilee Debt Campaign said:
“This small grant scheme is a mere sticking plaster for the gaping wound that will result from cutting Universal Credit by £20 a week.
“Borrowing for essentials has risen sharply over the pandemic and millions of struggling households are facing a cliff edge as the government winds up Covid support measures, including the furlough scheme which ends today.
“If the government really wants to ‘build back better’ it should not be cutting Universal Credit. It should instead write off the unpayable household debts that have been built up during the pandemic – a move that has public support and gives everyone a chance to reset their finances and rebuild their lives.”
For more information contact Joe on +44 (0) 779 6884487
Notes
Government launches £500m support for vulnerable households over winter https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-500m-support-for-vulnerable-households-over-winter
Jubilee Debt Campaign is a UK charity working to end poverty caused by unjust debt through education, research and campaigning: https://debtjustice.org.uk/
Jubilee Debt Campaign is calling on the government to take urgent action to prevent and impending ‘long covid debt crisis’ including:
- Government grants directly to households to help clear rent and Council Tax arrears
- Widening access to insolvency procedures so that people with no real assets can obtain a fresh start
- Providing people who enter Debt Management Plans with ‘fair debt write downs’
For more information see https://debtjustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/A-Fresh-Start-After-Covid19-web.pdf
Jubilee Debt Campaign’s Privacy Policy is available at https://debtjustice.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Privacy-policy.pdf