Response to Universal Credit £20 top up ending September 2021

“It is disappointing to hear that the £20 uplift in Universal Credit will be coming to an end in September. It was a welcome increase as for many people living on Universal Credit or finding themselves needing to claim for the first time, £20 is a lifeline when faced with making extremely difficult choices between paying for rent, food or heating. 

“There’s now around 6 million people on Universal Credit in the UK, and at VIVID we’ve seen our Universal Credit claimants more than double to over 8,000 since the start of the pandemic. We therefore know there will be many people worried about the effect this will have on them and their household income.  

“We’re urging everyone who needs financial support to reach out for help. As a housing association we play a central role in helping people improve their life chances. We provide crucial services including money and benefits advice, employment and training and wider tenancy and wellbeing support. Last year we secured £5.7m of unclaimed benefits/income for our customers and helped 589 customers get back to work. We want to reassure our customers that we’re here for them and to get in touch if they need our support.”