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The removal of the £20 Universal Credit uplift should be paused through winter until there is a better understanding of what is happening to the economy after the pandemic, a former Conservative Party leader has said.
Speaking to Sky News, Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the policy has been “the silent ship in the fleet” throughout coronavirus and warned the government there remains “a real need for a support mechanism”.
From Wednesday, no more Universal Credit assessments will include the £20 uplift, meaning that from 13 October – one week later – no payments received will have the extra sum.
Numerous charities have raised concerns that hundreds of people will be plunged into poverty through the move.
But also speaking to Sky News on Wednesday morning, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab reiterated the government’s position that the uplift was “always meant to be temporary”.
Sir Iain, who designed and built the Universal Credit system alongside others, told Sky News the policy has been “a huge success during the course of the COVID outbreak”.
Referring to the government’s flagship policy of levelling up, he also warned that “you need a floor from which people can start to level up” from.
The former Conservative leader described the uplift as “an asset that works” and said Prime Minister Boris Johnson must think about the impact of its removal “very carefully”.
“If we take the money out now in this way, two things – even if the government wants to do it, which I think we don’t need to do, but let’s say they do – at least let’s pause and have a look at this for a longer period while we understand what is happening with the economy and know that there is rising prices, cost of living is going to rise, fuel price is rising, lots of…
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Source : skynews
