Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer addressed Labour MPs on Monday about welfare reform, promising: “If you can work, we will make work pay – if you need help, that safety net will be there for you.”
But what does this mean for the one in five people using food banks who are already working? Trussell research shows 20%1 of people referred to food banks are from working households, with most earning so little they still need Universal Credit support.
The reality is stark: 68%2 of working households receiving Universal Credit have gone without essentials like toiletries and prescriptions in the past six months. Work is clearly not providing a reliable route out of hardship.
As the government plans welfare reforms, we need more than promises. We need a solid plan that addresses why paid work isn’t enough to keep people fed and housed. The Prime Minister calls the current system “unsustainable” and “indefensible”, but cutting support without fixing the underlying problems of low pay and insecure work will only push more working people into crisis.
We call on the government to ensure any reforms truly “make work pay” by introducing an Essentials Guarantee for Universal Credit, ensuring the basic rate covers life’s essentials and support can never be pulled below that level. It will take better sick pay, more affordable childcare, and stronger employment protections to prevent the 20% of food bank users who are already working from needing to use food banks.
Photo credit: number10gov
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