Reversal of the Pandemic Benefits Boost Causes Strife in British Politics
A massive change to the country’s welfare system has divided the U.K. recently. The benefits boost that was introduced to support citizens throughout the pandemic is now being reversed, and it is unsure whether this is for the better or the worse.
In March 2020 everybody receiving unemployment benefits in the country had their weekly allowance increased by £20. This was the biggest boost to the benefits system since 1999 and intended to balance out the negative effects of the covid-19 pandemic. In particular, this added income was meant to help those who had been laid off or furloughed, and so were involuntarily unemployed. The scheme was always meant to be a temporary measure and has already been extended past its original end date in March 2021. If the boost were to remain as a permanent increase to benefits, this would cost the government £7 billion a year - money which could be used to help the recovery of the NHS after the pandemic.
Those wishing to claim benefits in the U.K. have to visit the Job Centre. (Sky)
Despite the benefits boost plan to terminate in October, there has been a lot of backlash from the British public and even some politicians. A letter asking those in charge to make the change permanent was signed by the leaders of four committees - one from each of the parliaments in the U.K. Those involved were Stephen Timms from the English Labour Party, Neil Gray from the Scottish National Party, Paula Bradley from the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, and Jenny Rathbone from the Welsh Labour Party. This letter suggested that the extra money is valuable to those on low incomes, and taking it away would be dangerous, especially for families with children. According to the letter, "the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (an independent social change organization working to solve U.K. poverty) has estimated that removing the uplift would force 500,000 people, including 200,000 children, into poverty.
Over five million people in the U.K. claim Universal Credit, the country’s employment benefit, and they would all be affected by this change. To fully understand the impact of it, though, we must investigate the figures for welfare in the country. As a single person claiming full benefits, you can earn up to £13,400 a year, as well as receiving help with rent payments. Although this does not sound like a lot when it is compared to the wage of a working adult it exposes some inconsistencies in the country’s values. An 18-year-old adult working a full-time minimum-wage position would only earn around £11,939.20 a year, and then still be expected to pay their own rent and bills. A welfare system that exposes gross inconsistencies between income needs to be rethought.
The reduction would not actually be a reduction in the real sense of the word. Benefits would go back to the same level as before the pandemic. Rishi Sunak, MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer, was very honest about the boost being a temporary measure. In his budget speech where he introduced the plan, he said that the government’s response to the pandemic would be “temporary, timely, and targeted.” Therefore, the change should not come as a surprise.
This issue will possibly never be agreed upon, as welfare and benefits have always been a dividing subject in the U.K. However, the government is set to go ahead with the reversal of the boost, and only time will tell the impacts of that.
