Campaigners are calling on the government to boost payments of Universal Credit and legacy benefits by at least £25 a week, to help families through the cost of living crisis. The energy cap increase has been confirmed to rise to £3,549 per year for dual fuel in an average household from October 2022, and welfare organisations are demanding an immediate national response.
Many campaigners that the current situation is an emergency as severe as when the pandemic hit the UK. In October 2021, a Universal Credit top-up of £20 a week was cut after being in place for 18 months, which equated to an extra £1,560 to help households reports Birmingham Live.
This led to people on three other benefits going to the Court of Appeal to try and win back pay of the same amount. Thomas Lawson, chief executive of national poverty charity Turn2us, said the "meteoric rise in the energy cap will cripple those of us in the UK already struggling to stay afloat."
