Working families are being forced to rely on Universal Credit to top up their wages, figures indicate. DWP benefit hotspots show where households turn to the social security system for extra cash so they can afford the essentials – and we have mapped them all below.
Research carried out by Trussell and the Joseph Roundtree Foundation (JRF) calculates that the standard rate of Universal Credit falls short of the weekly amount needed to pay for food, utility bills, clothing, travel, phone and internet use, and other basic costs. It means that even people who are claiming the benefit while also holding down a job may have to make difficult choices in hard times, such as when circumstances change due to sickness, job loss, or a breakup with a partner.
Government figures show that as of October, more than 7.1 million people were in receipt of Universal Credit, which is being rolled out to replace Housing Benefit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit and Income Support. Of those claimants, around 2.7 million (37 per cent) were also in paid employment but still had to rely on Universal Credit to try to make ends meet.
This means 6 per cent of Britain’s working-age population – about one in 16 – need the extra support of Universal Credit despite being in employment. However, in some parts of the country, the proportion of people working and claiming UC is much higher.
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In Boston, Lincolnshire, where the average wage is the third lowest in the UK, 11 per cent of the working-age population have a job yet still need to claim UC, the highest proportion in the country. Here In Birmingham, the figure is 8 per cent, and in neighbouring Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton it’s slightly higher at 9 per cent of workers needing Universal Credit to help them survive. Dudley has a figure of 7 per cent. You can see how your area compares using our interactive map below.
Of the 215,000 Universal Credit claimants in Birmingham, 29 per cent are working and reliant on top-ups from the benefit, while the others are either looking for work or ruled unfit for work on medical grounds. Campaigners say that Britain’s social security system should ensure that everyone can afford basic essentials, even in tough times. Trussell and JRF analysis estimates that £120 is needed by a single person per week to pay for basic essentials, or £200 for a couple.
They say a commitment that Universal Credit should cover the cost of basic needs should be enshrined in an Essentials Guarantee to ensure no family has to do without. However, the charities say the standard rate of Universal Credit is “now at around its lowest ever level as a proportion of average earnings.”
Currently, a single person under the age of 25 gets £311.68 per month, or about £72 per week, and a couple £489.23 per month (about £113 per week). Over 25s receive £393.45 per month (£91 per week) for a single person or £617.60 per month (£143 per week) for a couple. That means single people aged 25 and over are short by about £29, under-25s by £48, and couples by £57, or £87 if both are under 25.
The charities’ research suggests “inadequate social security” is the main driver of food bank use, with 1.5 million food parcels given out from Trussell food banks between April and September 2023. They estimate that around five in six low-income households on UC are currently going without essentials.
JRF senior policy adviser Iain Porter said: “Many people receiving Universal Credit are working but employment doesn’t protect them from going without essentials like food, heating and vital household bills. Around two-thirds of working-age adults in poverty are in a working household.
“The basic rate of Universal Credit is not set according to any independent calculation of the cost of essentials and is currently just £91 a week. This is already inadequate to meet people’s needs but it is sometimes reduced further, such as to repay debts to the DWP.
“The Government should embed an Essentials Guarantee into Universal Credit to ensure everyone has a protected minimum amount of support to afford life’s essentials. This would make sure the basic rate of Universal Credit at least covers the cost of essentials and that reductions to benefit payments, including from debt repayments and the benefit cap, can never pull support below that level.”
The call for change comes as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) aims to move all people on older legacy benefits onto Universal Credit by March 2026. The DWP claims 55 per cent of people will be better off on UC, 35 per cent will be worse off, and the rest will see no change.
Hardship charity Turn2us is also backing calls for an Essentials Guarantee. Shelley Hopkinson, Head of Policy and Influencing at hardship charity Turn2us, said: “Universal Credit is intended to top up the incomes of those in low-paid work, but the reality is it falls far short of ensuring people can afford life’s essentials.
“At Turn2Us, we regularly hear from people skipping meals, going without heating, or struggling to stay afloat despite working. That’s why we support the Essentials Guarantee, a commitment to ensuring Universal Credit provides enough for basic needs, so no one working or accessing benefits is left in poverty.”
However, critics say the answer isn’t to keep boosting benefits but to help people move to better-paid work. With reforms coming for health and disability benefits that are expected to see more people found fit for work rather than getting extra Universal Credit, further payment increases in the benefit look unlikely, some argue.
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