People left struggling under the pressures of soaring household costs could be in line for an emergency boost of more than £700 to their Universal Credit payments. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has asked Policy in Practice to look at the costs and consequences of three options to give the benefit a much-needed rise during the cost of living crisis, reports Birmingham Live.
The first option would mean increasing DWP benefits as though they had been given a 10 per cent rise in April 2022, rather than the 3.1 per cent that was applied at that time. At a cost of £3.1 billion to the Government, the move would mean 4.2 million households would gain an average of £729 a year, equivalent to an extra £60 a month.
The CSJ adds that its second option would be to restore the Universal Credit uplift, in which an additional £1,000 a year was given to claimants over 18 months of the pandemic. Reinstating this would cost £4.2 billion.
