The NHC joins the Child Poverty Action Group and 50 other organisations to call for the Government to increase benefits to match inflation
In the run-up to Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement, the NHC joined the Child Poverty Action Group’s (CPAG) campaign, along with more than 50 other organisations, to call for the Government to increase benefits by at least 8% to match inflation forecasts, instead of the planned 3.1% increase from April 2022.
The joint statement led by CPAG, and supported by others in the sector including the Chartered Institute for Housing, received coverage in the BBC, Guardian and the Mirror.
Disappointingly, the Chancellor’s announcements did not include plans to provide additional support through the welfare system. The Resolution Foundation has since estimated that a further 1.3m people, including 500,000 children, will fall into absolute poverty next year.
See the full CPAG statement and signatories below:
“Prices are rising at the fastest rate in 30 years, and energy bills alone are going to rise by 54% in April. We are all feeling the pinch but the soaring costs of essentials will hurt low-income families, whose budgets are already at breaking point, most.
There has long been a profound mismatch between what those with a low income have, and what they need to get by. Policies such as the benefit cap, the benefit freeze and deductions have left many struggling. And although benefits will increase by 3.1% in April, inflation is projected to be 7.25% by then. This means a real-terms income cut just six months after the £20 per week cut to universal credit.
Child Poverty Action Group’s analysis shows families’ universal credit will fall in value by £570 per year, on average. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has calculated that 400,000 people could be pulled into poverty by this real-terms cut to benefits.
The government must respond to the scale of the challenge. Prices are rising across the board. Families with children in poverty will face £35 per month in extra energy costs through spring and summer, even after the government’s council tax rebate scheme is factored in. These families also face £26 per month in additional food costs. The pressure isn’t going to ease: energy costs will rise again in October.
A second cut to benefits in six months is unthinkable. The government should increase benefits by at least 7% in April to match inflation, and ensure support for housing costs increases in line with rents. All those struggling, including families affected by the benefit cap, must feel the impact.
Much more is needed for levels of support to reflect what people need to get by, but we urge the government to use the spring statement on 23 March to stop this large gap widening even further. The people we support and represent are struggling, and budgets can’t stretch anymore.”
Alison Garnham, Chief Executive, Child Poverty Action Group
Emma Revie, Chief Executive, The Trussell Trust
Graeme Cooke, Director of Evidence and Policy, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Morgan Wild, Head of Policy, Citizens Advice
Dan Paskins, Director of UK Impact, Save the Children UK
Imran Hussain, Director of Policy and Campaigns, Action for Children
Thomas Lawson, Chief Executive, Turn2us
Sophie Corlett, Director of External Relations, Mind
Dr Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, Chief Executive, Oxfam GB
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director, Age UK
Eve Byrne, Director of Advocacy, Macmillan Cancer Support
Kamran Mallick, CEO, Disability Rights UK
Katherine Hill, Strategic Project Manager, 4in10 London’s Child Poverty Network
Mubin Haq, Chief Executive Officer, abrdn Financial Fairness Trust
Bob Stronge, Chief Executive, Advice NI
Dr Ruth Allen, Chief Executive, British Association of Social Workers
Joseph Howes, Chief Executive Officer, Buttle UK
Helen Walker, Chief Executive, Carers UK
Balbir Chatrik, Director of Policy and Communications, Centrepoint
Gavin Smart, Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Housing
Leigh Elliott, CEO, Children North East
Paula Stringer, CEO, Christians Against Poverty (CAP)
Niall Cooper, Director, Church Action on Poverty
Lynsey Sweeney, Managing Director, Communities that Work
Anna Feuchtwang, Chair, End Child Poverty Coalition
Claire Donovan, Head of Policy, Research and Campaigns, End Furniture Poverty
Victoria Benson, CEO, Gingerbread
Neil Parkinson, co-head of casework, Glass Door Homeless Charity
Graham Whitham, Chief Executive, Greater Manchester Poverty Action
Yasmine Ahmed, UK Director, Human Rights Watch
Sabine Goodwin, Coordinator, Independent Food Aid Network
Jess McQuail, Director, Just Fair
Gemma Hope, Director of Policy, Leonard Cheshire
Paul Streets, Chief Executive, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales
Jackie O’Sullivan, Director of Communication, Advocacy and Activism, Mencap
Mark Rowland, Chief Executive, Mental Health Foundation
Chris James, Director of External Affairs, Motor Neurone Disease Association
Nick Moberly, CEO, MS Society
Anna Feuchtwang, Chief Executive, National Children’s Bureau
Charlotte Augst, Chief Executive, National Voices
Jane Streather, Chair, North East Child Poverty Commission
Tracy Harrison, Chief Executive, Northern Housing Consortium
Karen Sweeney, Director of the Women’s Support Network, on behalf of the Women’s Regional Consortium, Northern Ireland
Satwat Rehman, CEO, One Parent Families Scotland
Mark Winstanley, Chief Executive, Rethink Mental Illness
James Taylor, Executive Director of Strategy, Impact and Social Change, Scope
Irene Audain MBE, Chief Executive Scottish, Out of School Care Network
Steve Douglas CBE, CEO, St Mungo’s
Richard Lane, Director of External Affairs, StepChange Debt Charity
Robert Palmer, Executive Director, Tax Justice
Claire Burns, Director, The Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection (CELCIS)
The Disability Benefits Consortium
Dr. Nick Owen MBE, CEO, The Mighty Creatives
Peter Kelly, Director, The Poverty Alliance
Elaine Downie, Co-ordinator, The Poverty Truth Community
Tim Morfin, Founder and Chief Executive, Transforming Lives for Good (TLG)
UCL Institute of Health Equity
Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, Director, Women’s Budget Group
Natasha Finlayson OBE, Chief Executive, Working Chance
Claire Reindorp, CEO, Young Women’s Trust
