Rise in people seeking support around Universal Credit in Yorkshire, says charity as it urges government to keep uplift

Citizens Advice said that they are helping one person every three minutes with their claims for the benefit.

There has been an 18 per cent increase in people in Yorkshire contacting Citizens Advice for support with Universal Credit, and eight in ten of those seeking help are accessing support for the first time.

The charity, which operates fourteen branches across the region, is calling on the government to make the temporary increase in the benefit payment, introduced in response to the pandemic, permanent.

Claimants have been able to access an extra £20 a week since April last year, but the twelve-month temporary increase is due to end in April in the new budget.Last week, the government instructed MPs to abstain on a symbolic non-binding vote forced through the Commons by Labour to commit to making the increase permanent.

The vote passed by 278 MPs to none, with Colne Valley MP Jason McCartney one of six Conservative rebels who voted to keep the uplift.

Nigel Cole, a welfare rights outreach worker for Citizens Advice Barnsley, said: “The boost to Universal Credit has been so important. It's been a lifeline for people who'd never lived on benefits before and for people who were already scraping by when Covid struck.

“When I was on benefits, £20-a-week was the difference between buying food or turning the heating on. The same is true of the people I talk to every day.

"I can’t imagine anything worse than having it taken away when you’re desperate to begin with. It would be soul-destroying.”

Maggie Bonser, an adviser at Citizens Advice Rotherham, said: “We’re having to let people know that their benefits might drop by £20-a-week in April. For someone already struggling, that’s catastrophic. They simply have no wiggle room in their budget.

“Many want to work but are coming up against a brick wall because there are no jobs. A cut to their benefits would mean missed bills, rent arrears and tough choices between putting the heating on and eating.”

This morning, work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey declined to confirm if the uplift will remain.

She said she was in "active discussion" with the Chancellor Rishi Sunak over whether to keep the increase in place beyond March.

He has so far resisted the calls, insisting he needs to start rebuilding public finances after the massive support the Government has given to nurse the economy through the pandemic.

Ms Coffey told BBC Breakfast: "We are hand in glove with the Treasury, working through to make sure we provide the best support to people throughout this pandemic.

"I can assure you that we are in active consideration of the options on how to best support people during this time and I hope we will be able to come to a decision soon."

She added: "We are working very closely with the Treasury so that we can make sure that we have the best decision which I hope the Prime Minister will be able to announce shortly."