UK benefits fall short of minimum living cost by £140 a month, charities say

A food bank in Eastbourne. Charities have been alarmed by the scale of poverty witnessed in food banks, warm rooms and advice agencies this winter. Photograph: Jon Santa Cruz/Rex/Shutterstock

The UK’s leading poverty charities have called for a change in the law to fix the UK’s “failing” welfare system after research revealed that basic benefits given to low-income households are at least £140 a month below the real cost of food, energy and everyday basics.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and the food bank network the Trussell Trust said inadequate benefits were the main driver of the explosion in destitution and food bank use in recent months, and urged the government to formally bring universal credit rates into line with minimum living costs.