Single mum residing on Universal Credit pressured to eat her daughter’s leftovers

A mum who says she is pressured to eat her daughter’s leftover meals to outlive has hit out at Jeremy Hunt’s autumn assertion.

Alongside a 6.7% rise in Universal Credit, the chancellor introduced this week that welfare recipients who don’t get a job inside 18 months would wish to tackle work expertise to get them again into employment – leaving folks on advantages asking the Government to place themselves of their footwear.

But Charlene Hughes, who depends on meals banks and is medically unable to work as a result of psychological well being points and persistent obstructive pulmonary illness (COPD), mentioned the proposed improve in advantages from would nonetheless go away her struggling to purchase necessities amid the price of residing disaster.

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She watched the assertion, and mentioned the rise would solely equate to round £10 additional per week for her. Ms Hughes, 36, who lives in Barnstaple, Devon, instructed the PA information company: “As a single parent, £10 a week would basically buy bread, butter, milk and juice – that’s pretty much all I could get. I watched [the statement] and I thought ‘wow’ – it hit home a little bit. My heating bills are around £2,500, which are in arrears, so £10 a week doesn’t really go very far. I basically live off what my daughter doesn’t eat and food bank stuff. The thought’s nice, but it doesn’t really help people like myself.”

Ms Hughes mentioned she had “always worked” till she received Covid. “I was poorly, I lost my dad and got into debt,” she mentioned. “I had the flu, I was put into intensive care and my COPD is never going to get any better and I suffer with my mental health – I’m going through a schizophrenia assessment.”

Aidan Wood, 43, a wheelchair consumer who receives new fashion Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and housing advantages, in the meantime mentioned that he would roughly obtain an additional £100 a month when the rise comes into impact – however is uncertain if it will be capable to sustain with rising costs. Mr Wood, who additionally has autism and goes by means of the prognosis course of for ADHD, mentioned :”At the moment, to try and enjoy life as much as I can, I scrimp on some things that I probably shouldn’t like my grocery bill.”

Mr Wood, who lives in Pentrebane, Wales, added: “It will be interesting to see how much everything else goes up by to see if I’m actually £100 a month better off.” He mentioned information about folks on advantages that haven’t discovered work after 18 months being “sanctioned” and placed on a compulsory work scheme lacks readability. “It doesn’t say which benefits are being targeted, so I’m hoping against hope that those of us on the higher rate of ESA in terms of the protected category are still protected.”

He added that Mr Hunt’s plans for extra “opportunities” for these on advantages by placing extra into the office, is a “euphemism for a stick” as a result of lack of alternatives out there for these with disabilities. “I used to have a prosthetic but can’t wear that anymore and I’m in a wheelchair, so physically there’s not a lot I can do,” he mentioned. “As I have autism, when I was working in retail in a local supermarket, and probably shouldn’t have, I would frequently make mistakes because I would get stressed out, feeling rushed on the checkouts.”

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