DWP told to boost Universal Credit payments by at least £25 a week

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has been urged to increase Universal Credit payments by at least £25 a week as the cost of living crisis worsens. It comes after Ofgem announced that the energy price cap will rise to £3,549 from October this year - an increase of around 80 per cent.

Campaigners are now calling on the government to act swiftly, saying the situation is as severe as when the Covid pandemic hit the UK and the government introduced a temporary uplift to Universal Credit payments. For 18 months from March 2020, claimants received an extra £20 per week.

Welfare organisations are asking for an immediate national response to rising energy prices and say a weekly uplift in Universal Credit payments would help those struggling with bills the most, Birmingham Live reports. National poverty charity Turn2us is calling on the government to introduce a cap on energy costs and increase Universal Credit and legacy benefits by a minimum of £25 a week.

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Thomas Lawson, Turn2us chief executive said the "meteoric rise in the energy cap will cripple those of us in the UK already struggling to stay afloat." He added: "This is no longer a choice between heating and eating, but not being able to afford either. This is as big an emergency as the impact of Covid and needs a similarly confident government response. As one of the wealthiest economies, it’s simply not acceptable to consign more than a quarter of us into poverty."

Fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA) estimates the latest rise will increase the number of UK households in fuel poverty from 4.5 million last October to 8.9 million this October, despite the current government