Rishi Sunak’s manifesto promise to halve migration has been slammed as “arbitrary, untenable and cruel” by experts as the Conservatives unveiled the immigration plans at the heart of their election strategy.

The prime minister has said that, if his government is re-elected, parliament will vote each year on a legally-binding cap on migration.

All asylum claims will be processed in six months and the use of hotels ended, the newly-released manifesto promised, while automatically raising the £38,700 threshold for skilled workers and family visas in line with inflation.

“Saying that ‘migration will be halved’ is arbitrary, untenable and cruel,” said Yasmin Halima, executive director at the Joint Centre for the Welfare of Immigrants.

“Instead, any future government should be focussing on how to fix the inefficiencies of an immigration system that leaves traumatised people in limbo, often for years, and that punishes those who come here to study or work. “

Also announced this week, the Lib Dems’ plans include giving asylum seekers the right to work after three months of waiting for a claim, and scrapping the Rwanda scheme.

In a speech at Silverstone racetrack, Sunak committed to the Rwanda plan as a deterrent and said migration has been too high in recent years.

Josephine Whitaker-Yilmaz, policy and public affairs manager at Praxis, said the manifesto policies carried on a trend of “intensifying anti-migrant rhetoric”. 

“Unfortunately, what we’ve seen in the Conservative Party manifesto is a doubling down on this theme, with the promise of yet another hike in already exorbitant visa fees to pay for more police,” said Whitaker-Yilmaz. 

“Not only would this do nothing to solve the root causes of underinvestment in our public services, it would also exacerbate the growing problem of poverty and homelessness in our communities, including amongst migrant households.”

Net migration to the UK reached 685,000 in 2023, accounted for by a rise in non-EU citizens coming to the UK, according to the Migration Observatory.

New research suggests 63% of Brits think politicians use refugees as a weapon to stoke the ‘culture wars’.

Sunak’s plans were dismissed by migration expert Zoe Gardner. “They are the last gasps of a government that has so spectacularly mismanaged the country as to make their nonsense manifesto almost irrelevant to the election debate at all,” said Gardner. “It’s almost impressive.”

Big Issue is demanding an end to poverty this general election. Will you sign our open letter to party leaders?

Rishi Sunak suggested that the Conservative government has “reduced child poverty” as he announced his party’s manifesto ahead of the general election.

At a time when millions of children across the country are living in poverty and hundreds of thousands of people are relying on food banks to live, it’s no surprise his comment made at Silverstone on Tuesday (11 June) have provoked outrage.

Caroline Lucas, former leader of the Green Party, posted on X: “How dare Sunak suggest the Tories have reduced child poverty.”

• Taxes, benefit cuts and bad jokes: Key takeaways from the Tory general election manifesto launch
• ‘You can hear your stomach growling’: Kids call on next government to do more to end child poverty

Around one million children in the UK experienced “horrifying levels of destitution” last year, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Lucas added: “He should scrap cruel two-child limit because doing so would lift 300,000 children out of the dire poverty his government has created.”

The Conservative manifesto actually celebrates the two-child limit and benefit cap, which it claims make the system “fairer to the taxpayers who pay for it and ensure benefits are always a safety net, not a lifestyle choice“.

Charities and campaigners have long called for an end to the two-child limit, which is considered “one of the cruellest welfare policies of the last decade”. Labour is also refusing to scrap the policy.

How dare Sunak suggest the Tories have reduced child poverty when @jrf_uk find 1 million children experiencing destitution with major increase since 2017. He should scrap cruel 2-child limit because doing so would lift 300,000 children out of the dire poverty his govt has created

— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) June 11, 2024

So let’s fact check it. Is Sunak right in saying his government has reduced child poverty? Well, it depends what measure you use.

There were 4.3 million children living in poverty in 2022 to 2023, according to official government statistics. This is 100,000 more than in the previous year and nearly one in three children.

By comparison, there were 3.6 million children in poverty in 2010/11. That means 600,000 more children are in poverty now than there were when the Conservatives came to power.

But Sunak is referring to absolute child poverty, which is when a person or household does not have the minimum amount of income needed to meet the minimum living requirements.

And technically, he’s right on this front. Absolute poverty fell by 1.1 million between 2009/10 and 2022/23. But absolute poverty normally falls, and this is no where near the falls we have seen historically. In the previous 13-year period, absolute poverty fell by 7.8 million.

Absolute child poverty actually rose this year, when Rishi Sunak was prime minister, by two percentage points on the previous year from 23% to 25%. This is the worst increase since 1981, and represents an additional 300,000 kids in poverty.

So what do the Tories plan on doing to help kids? It’s announced an expansion to child benefit payments, but that is most likely to benefit high earners.

Parents earning six-figure salaries could be able to keep some or all of their child benefit payments. The Conservatives would increase the income threshold at which a household starts to lose their child benefits from £60,000 to £120,000.

This would gradually be increased to £160,000. The manifesto claims around 700,000 families would benefit and it would save them nearly £1,500 on average.

Tom Waters, associate director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, told the BBC: “At that point, one has to ask whether it’s really worth having the additional administrative apparatus, rather than simply returning child benefit to being universal, as it always was before 2013.”

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Sunak also reiterated previously-announced plans to give working parents 30 hours of free childcare a week from when their child is nine months old to when they start school, saving eligible families an average of £6,900 per year.

Yet as the Big Issue has previously reported, children whose parents earn less than £8,650 each are not eligible for the scheme and will miss out on key opportunities for development. 

Few of the poorest families will be eligible for the full 30 hours free childcare offer, analysis from the New Economics Foundation shows. By comparison, the majority of middle and higher income households will benefit.

Dan Paskins, interim director of policy, advocacy and campaigns for Save the Children UK, said: “Being a ‘party of the family’ should mean a fair focus on the very poorest and those struggling in this country. 

“The Conservative party’s manifesto highlighted positive changes on child benefit and childcare but reforms need to be more ambitious. It’s a fact that 4.3 million children are still in poverty. All political parties must make a hopeful offer for children at this general election.”

Big Issue is demanding an end to poverty this general election. Will you sign our open letter to party leaders?

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? We want to hear from you. Get in touch and tell us more.

Rishi Sunak believes it is his “moral mission” to reform the welfare system by slashing £12bn from the benefits bill by the end of the next parliament.

The Conservative prime minister claimed he would do this by pushing more people, including those who are disabled and have long-term health conditions, into work.

It builds on his previously announced plans for a more punitive benefits regime which intends to eradicate a so-called “sick-note culture”.

• Disability and work: Why the next government must show compassion and reform the benefits system
• Almost no recorded cases of disability benefit fraud despite DWP crackdown: ‘PIP fraud is a non-issue’

Proposals have included tightening access to extra universal credit, replacing people’s personal independence payment (PIP) with one-off grants, and increased use of conditionality and sanctions to punish claimants deemed not to be looking for work.

Disability activist who goes by the name of Ben Claimant posted on X: “I don’t know what is moral about causing huge amounts of anxiety and stress, but I guess what the Tories mean about ‘reforming welfare’ is miles apart from what people actually need.”

Sunak has also announced a £700m investment in NHS mental health treatment to ensure 500,000 more people can access talking therapies by 2030.

Labour, which is expected to win the next election, has announced its own plan to drive more people into work. It claims it will target an increase in the employment rate from 75% to 80%.

It includes new local plans for work, health and skills support to get more people with health conditions and disabilities into work, with devolved funding and leadership from mayors and local areas.

Labour also wants new combined national jobs and careers service, bringing together Jobcentres and the careers service, to get more people into work.

Keir Starmer’s party has also announced proposals for a “youth guarantee” to help people aged 18 to 21 find training or apprenticeships.

It has not confirmed whether it would drop the Conservatives’ plans for benefits cuts, which experts fear will drive more people into poverty and exacerbate mental and physical health conditions, pushing people further away from work.

The Big Issue’s Blueprint for Change is calling for the next government to take a supportive approach to getting people into work – rather than punishing people who face barriers in the workplace.

Read about why the next government must show compassion towards disabled people rather than threatening to cut back their benefits here.

Big Issue is demanding an end to poverty this general election. Will you sign our open letter to party leaders?

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? We want to hear from you. Get in touch and tell us more.

Children feel that their voices are being ignored as politicians fail to make a clear commitment to ending child poverty in their general election campaigns.

“We are overlooking so many issues in society and it’s just not good enough,” 11-year-old Dennis told the Big Issue.

There are 4.3 million children across the UK living in poverty. That is one in three.

Dennis believes politicians “don’t understand what we’re going through” and they “don’t understand what it’s like to be a child”.

Hanna, also aged 11, agrees. “It makes me quite angry, actually,” she says. “People don’t need to be in poverty. Every child should eat and drink and be healthy.”

New research from the Childhood Trust, which analysed data from 1,400 schools attended by 580,000 children, highlights the devastating impact of poverty on children’s lives.

Children on pupil premium – those are kids from the most disadvantaged backgrounds – face suspension or exclusion at rates three times higher than their peers.

They also are more likely to struggle with their mental health. When they start secondary school, their mental health wellbeing score is around 10% lower on average than their fellow students.

“It feels so wrong,” Dennis says. “Everyone needs to be respected. Everyone has tough times. Nobody has a perfect life. People shouldn’t be treated differently just because they have a poor background.”

Laurence Guinness, chief executive of the Childhood Trust, adds: “This is a form of discrimination. What we’re seeing is discriminatory.

“Just because you’re from a low-income family, it shouldn’t mean that your education is also disadvantaged, because that then just perpetuates the cycle of poverty.”

At Dennis’s school, a blazer costs £170. “It’s too much,” he says. Families also have to buy laptops, scientific calculators, stationery and more. “It just adds up.”

“Some people are just living paycheck to paycheck. They can’t sustain themselves and afford their basic needs.”

Dennis recalls being in his classroom and the teacher asking whether they had eaten breakfast that morning. Only half of the class put their hands up.

One of Dennis’s peers told him he thought he had failed his SATs test because he was “so hungry he couldn’t concentrate”.

“I was just so flabbergasted,” Dennis says. “They could have failed. That could of been their future and their life at secondary school.”

Around 89% of charities surveyed by the Childhood Trust reported inadequate nutrition among the 310,877 children they support, leading to malnutrition, obesity and chronic illnesses that impair educational engagement.

“I completely agree with what Dennis said,” Hanna remarks. “If you don’t have a good breakfast, then it’s very hard to concentrate and to focus on what you are doing because you can always hear your stomach growling.”

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New analysis from the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) shows that there are 900,000 children living in poverty who are not eligible for free school meals.

That’s because entitlement is so restrictive. For a family on universal credit to qualify, their combined household income must be £7,400 a year or less excluding benefit payments.

The Childhood Trust is calling for expansive policy changes, including greater access to early childhood education, integrated health and education policies, more free school meals, affordable housing initiatives, and comprehensive school-based health services.

Guiness says: “We need a commitment to eradicate poverty in this country. We need to be honest about the impact of disadvantage of not having enough free school meals, not having enough material in schools that children need: books, pencils, laptops, uniforms, clothes really basic stuff.

“The housing crisis across the country needs to be addressed. These are the fundamentals of a prosperous society – that everyone has has a decent place to live, a reasonable level of income, nobody goes hungry.”

Most charities (84%) documented overcrowded living conditions for the children they support, exposing them to high stress levels that negatively impact learning.

GCSE results in 2023 for disadvantaged pupils were at a record low since 2011. Only 25% were grades of five or above compared to 52% for non-disadvantaged pupils.

The Big Issue is also calling for a clear commitment to ending poverty from the next government. Its Blueprint for Change sets out a series of policy recommendations, including ensuring that universal credit is enough so that people can afford the essentials and expanding free school meals to all school children.

Guinness adds: “This isn’t some kind of paradise utopia that we’re trying to dream. It’s well within the grasp of of enlightened politicians to assure a fairer, more equal distribution. And what we’ve seen over the last government has been a worsening of the child poverty landscape, and children are getting a raw deal.”

Find out more, including how to support The Childhood Trust, here.

Big Issue is demanding an end to poverty this general election. Will you sign our open letter to party leaders?

The Big Issue has reported extensively on the harrowing experiences faced by people navigating the disability benefits system.

Aidan, an amputee, shared his story of being driven to “psychological trauma to the point of being suicidal” when the government took away his personal independence payment (PIP).

A domestic violence victim said she was forced to relive her abuse when she was assessed for disability benefits. Chelsea, a young disabled woman, spent two years going through a distressing appeals process to try to get her PIP back.

Josh took his own life aged 25 after facing significant stress that his disability benefits were going to be stripped away. His mother blames the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and public services for failing Josh when he was at his most desperate.

Pauline had schizophrenia and other health conditions and was denied disability benefits. She was only awarded PIP when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She died weeks later.

Hundreds of readers have written to share their own traumatic experiences. Disability benefits assessors told us the system is “target driven” and “sets people up to fail”.

Our reporting shows that this is not an easy system to navigate – far from it.

• Almost no recorded cases of disability benefit fraud despite DWP crackdown: ‘PIP fraud is a non-issue’
• PIP changes: What is the government planning with the disability benefits system?

The UK’s disability benefits system has been condemned by charities, MPs, the United Nations, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and many more. And yet little has changed. In fact, it has probably got worse.

In its response to our reporting, the DWP previously said: “We support millions of people every year and our priority is that they receive a timely, supportive and compassionate service.

“PIP entitlement is assessed by healthcare professionals and decisions are made using all the available information. If someone disagrees with a decision, they can ask for this to be reconsidered and appeal to an independent tribunal.”

The Conservative government recently announced a series of proposals which would make the benefits system even tougher for disabled people. Rishi Sunak said there was a “sick note culture” and he worried about benefits becoming a “lifestyle choice”.

Ministers have proposed cuts to disability benefits, tougher sanctions for people out of work and regular PIP payments being replaced with one-off grants.

It is all part of a plan to get disabled people into work. There are more than 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness, according to recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). 

An increasing welfare bill and gaps in the workforce are challenges the next government must address, but research shows that a punitive approach can push people further away from work and deeper into poverty. Sanctions can actually drive people to disability benefits, research shows.

Michael Clarke, head of information programmes at anti-poverty charity Turn2Us, explains: “Policies like benefit sanctions, the two-child limit, and stricter conditionality are destroying trust, damaging health, and deterring people when they need help the most.

“Political leaders must act now. They need to listen to people’s experiences and build a compassionate, fair system for everyone. This means ensuring benefits cover essential living costs and abolishing the two-child limit and sanctions. The demand for a system that truly supports and reassures those struggling to get by is loud and clear across the UK.”

Is Labour much better? The party tipped to win the general election is also concerned about getting people back into work and it is yet to confirm whether it would drop the Conservatives’ plans.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said earlier this year there would be “no option for a life on benefits” under a Labour government, while setting out plans to encourage unemployed young people into work. Her predecessor Jonathan Ashworth also said there would be continued conditionality.

But Labour has also suggested a more supportive approach – such as new local plans to get more people with health conditions and disabilities into work.

Shadow disability minister Vicky Foxcroft said: “DWP too often fails to get decisions right first time, leading to lengthy delays, reassessments and a stressful appeals process.”

She added that the Tories have “run the health and care system into the ground” and that Labour would “support disabled people to live independently, enable as many as possible to work and fix the NHS to make sure people get the treatment they need”.

The Big Issue’s Blueprint for Change is calling for the next government to reform the increasingly punitive benefits system and replace it with one which helps those most in need.

It wants the Back to Work Plan to be reformed to focus on mentorship, confidence-building models and realistic routes to move people back into sustainable employment, rather than unnecessary and harsh punishments.

There also needs to be increased job security, better pay and flexibility offered by employers.

After all, work isn’t always a route out of poverty. Around two-thirds (68%) of working-age adults in poverty live in a household where at least one adult is in work. This figure was lower than 50% in 1996/97.

Big Issue is demanding an end to poverty this general election. Will you sign our open letter to party leaders?

Ayla Ozmen, director of policy and campaigns at Z2k, said: “Any new government that is serious about tackling this challenge must move towards a disability benefits system that allows people to try work without risking destitution. But current plans on the table fail to address this risk and will simply push many disabled people deeper into poverty.

“We need all political parties to commit to changing this dangerous direction of travel, scrapping plans to tighten the work capability assessment from next year and to moving towards a system that truly works for disabled people by removing the risk and inadequacy currently built into universal credit.”

Figures published by the DWP show that its planned changes to the work capability assessment, which are due to come into effect next year, will lead to lower benefits or higher work-search conditions for around 457,000 people by 2028/29.

But reporting by the Big Issue shows that this will only lead to 15,400 more people finding paid work.

James Taylor, director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, said: “Disabled voices must not be ignored in this election. Large numbers of disabled people tell us – year in, year out – that the benefits system isn’t working. It’s a punitive and adversarial system where wrong decisions are made too often, and it leaves many people feeling dejected.”

Around seven in ten people referred to food banks in the Trussell Trust network are disabled. Often, because of the shame and stigma of going to a food bank, these are people who have reached such severe states of hunger and hardship that they have no other choice.

As charities like Scope have long pointed out, life costs more if you are disabled. On average, a household with a disabled person spends around £975 more every month for extra costs like powering equipment and heating bills.

Disabled people have repeatedly told the Big Issue that they want to work, but there just isn’t the support or flexibility there from employers.

Taylor added: “Disabled people are continually left out of pocket by a failing benefits system. The current system forces disabled people who are too unwell to work into unsuitable jobs by threatening to cut their benefits. We need to move to a situation where disabled people who want to work in some capacity are given the opportunity through a system that is voluntary and based on trust. 

“We want to see all parties commit to wholesale welfare reform, and introduce tailored employment support for disabled people free from counter-productive conditionality.”

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? We want to hear from you. Get in touch and tell us more.

A South London mum has said visiting baby banks helped take the “shame” away after she felt “depressed” due to the skyrocketing cost of living crisis continuing to hit the UK.

CeCe, 44, gave birth to baby Eden in 2023, telling Big Issue that while she was pregnant, she had been overwhelmed by the upcoming costs associated with having a child.

“I was really feeling quite depressed, because I was four months [pregnant] at the time, and I was thinking, well, my time is ticking down, and it feels like the cost of living crisis is biting me, because every ten seconds I’m putting money on the gas, money on the electricity. My partner is a full-time worker, but he’s also a university student,” she explained.

She praised London baby bank network Little Village, which helped provide her with essentials including clothes, toys and baby equipment when her daughter was born. 

Now one year old, Eden has continued to receive clothes and other items from the baby bank, which helped support more than 3,000 newborns in 2023 alone. 

• How baby banks are fighting child poverty and empowering mums in the cost of living crisis
• Next government must increase universal credit so people have enough money to survive

The London-based baby bank network launched its “great big baby shower” event on Tuesday (4 June) in the run-up to September’s baby boom, with the charity estimating it will need to reach more than 800 newborns over summer by helping families in need of essentials. 

The charity, which supported 8,529 children in total in 2023, claims when its referral form is open, a family is referred to the baby bank on average every 45 seconds. 

CeCe told Big Issue that she was first told about the Little Village baby bank during a midwife appointment, and was given a referral that day. 

“I literally broke down at the midwife appointment,” she said. “She was so lovely to me… she referred me, and I really didn’t believe it until I got the phone call.”

CeCe added: “When the items arrived, I definitely realised this is coming from a charity that loves children. Because everything they sent was beautiful. I was so impressed. And then that takes the shame away.”

She explained that she’s a person that “doesn’t like to ask for help”, and that she appreciated Little Village offering “essential items” like clothes, bedsheets, books, and bottle sterilisers rather than her having to list everything she might need.  

“That was what made me feel so cared for,” she said. “The anxiety just faded. It faded, because I just don’t want to have to ask.”

She added that the baby bank has continued to offer her items as Eden has grown, leading her to donate several items back to Little Village after she no longer needed them. 

“What was nice was that all the things that she had grown out of, I knew that I could now donate them back, because I’ve looked after them so well… It felt really good to do that, and that’s what keeps them [the charity] going,” CeCe explained. 

You're invited to join Little Village's Great Big Baby Shower! Starting next Tuesday 4th June for two weeks, all cash donations made to us will be DOUBLED!#GreatBigBabyShower pic.twitter.com/JOxropBYiv

— Little Village (@LittleVillageHQ) June 2, 2024

CeCe explained that being given much-needed items for newborns can be the most effective way to help families struggling with the cost of living. She explained that parents can often face barriers when receiving other forms of aid, like universal credit, which means you still have to pay up-front for expensive baby items. 

“There should be a set amount of essentials that the government says, ‘This is what the baby needs to enter into the world,’” she told Big Issue. “And the government should be supporting places like Little Village, absolutely. It should just be a staple. The government absolutely has to help fund it.

“They need to look after children, not from primary school but from birth.”

Debra Kroll, a midwife from University College London Hospitals, explained that baby banks can provide a “real lifeline for expectant mothers struggling with the ever-increasing cost of living, ensuring that they have the necessary resources to welcome their little ones with warmth and dignity.”

Sophie Livingstone, chief executive of Little Village, added: “It makes me extremely angry that we live in the sixth richest country in the world and families are in this position. It doesn’t need to be that way. We need some anger in society and some recognition that we won’t stand for this.”

Big Issue is demanding an end to poverty this general election. Will you sign our open letter to party leaders?

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? We want to hear from you. Get in touch and tell us more.

Universal credit has increased in 2024 but some claimants will only be seeing the extra cash in their accounts from June.

Benefits across the board increased by 6.7% this April. That was because benefits are supposed to increase by September’s rate of inflation and last year that was 6.7%.

But because of the way assessment periods for universal credit work, you might only get extra money from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) this month.

• Universal credit claimants lose more than £1bn a year to ‘automatic DWP deductions’
• Why DWP urgently needs to make universal credit enough so people can afford the essentials

Below, we’ve explained why some people are only just getting the increased rate, why charities are calling for universal credit to be increased further, and where else to get support in June 2024.

Why has my universal credit increased in June 2024?

Benefits increased by 6.7% from 8 April, 2024 for many claimants.

But for some universal credit claimants, the increased benefit rates has only taken effect in June. This is because the new rate is not paid by the DWP until the first assessment period on or after 8 April.

Here’s an example. Your assessment period began on 26 March. It runs for a complete calendar month so ended on 25 April.

Payments are made a week after the first assessment period comes to an end, so you received your payment on 2 May. But because the assessment period started before 8 April, it was at the old rate.

A new assessment period would have begun on 26 April and ended on 25 May. So the new full rate would have been paid on 1 June.

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Why are people calling for universal credit to be increased further?

Universal credit is not enough for people to afford the cost of living, even since they have been increased in 2024.

The standard allowance for universal credit for people aged 25 and over falls short by around £30 every week – or £120 every month, according to estimations from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. For people aged 25 and under, the shortfall is even higher, at around £48 every week.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Trussell Trust and the Big Issue, backed by more than 100 organisations, are calling for an ‘essentials guarantee’ to be implemented into universal credit so people can at least afford the basics they need to live.

Read more here.

Big Issue is demanding an end to poverty this general election. Will you sign our open letter to party leaders?

Could you be eligible for more DWP benefits or cost of living help?

Benefits aren’t stretching far enough in the cost of living crisis – but they can be a lifeline.

You could be entitled to benefits and tax credits if you are working or unemployed, sick or disabled, a parent, a young person, an older person or a veteran. You can use a benefits calculator to find out what you might be entitled to claim – including from Turn2Us, Policy in Practice and entitledto.

Citizens Advice offers information and services to help people and they can advise you as to what financial support is available from the government to help you. You can also find local advice services here.

People who are struggling financially may be eligible for charitable grants. You can find out what grants might be available to you using Turn2Us’ grant search on the charity’s website.

If you are unable to pay your bills, your local council may have a scheme that can help you. Local councils may be able to give you debt advice, help you get hold of furniture and support you through food and fuel poverty. You can also find out what support your council offers through End Furniture Poverty’s local welfare assistance finder or by contacting your local authority directly.

You can find your local food bank through the Trussell Trust’s website or the IFAN’s member’s map. You can also call the Trussell Trust’s free helplines and talk to a trained adviser. It’s 0808 208 2138 if you live in England or Wales, and 0800 915 4604 if you live in Northern Ireland. You should contact your local council if you live in Scotland.

There’s lots more cost of living help available to people who need it – we round it up here.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? We want to hear from you. Get in touch and tell us more.

Benefits like universal credit are a lifeline for millions of people across the UK struggling to afford the cost of living.

But stigma, inaccessibility and lack of awareness means that many low-income households are not claiming the financial support to which they are entitled.

Just under £23bn in benefits and financial help goes unclaimed each year, according to research by Policy in Practice.

• Almost no recorded cases of disability benefit fraud despite DWP crackdown: ‘PIP fraud is a non-issue’
• DWP sparks outcry with plan to hire 2,500 ‘agents’ to investigate universal credit claimants

Meanwhile, charity Turn2Us found that two-thirds of UK adults find it “confusing” to determine whether they might be eligible for benefits.

It warned that the benefits system is “unnecessarily difficult to navigate” and can be “soul-destroying”, calling on the DWP to “get the system working” for people.

The government recently increased benefits and state pension – and many claimants will have already seen this take effect, but some universal credit claimants will only see the increased rate in June.

Below, we’ve outlined when you should expect a benefit payment, why some people are only just getting the increased rate, changes to universal credit which mean more people will have to look for work, and where else to get support in June 2024.

What date will my benefits paid by the DWP in June 2024?

The date your benefit is paid depends on what benefit you receive and when you started claiming.

Universal credit is paid monthly by the DWP. Attendance allowance, disability living allowance, pension credit, personal independence payment (PIP) and state pension are paid every four weeks.

Carer’s allowance, tax credits (from HMRC) and child benefit are either weekly or every four weeks. And maternity allowance is either every two weeks or every four weeks.

Income support, employment and support allowance and jobseeker’s allowance are usually every two weeks.

Who will get increased benefits in June 2024?

Benefits increased by 6.7% from 8 April, 2024 for many claimants.

But for some universal credit claimants, the increased benefit rates will take effect around June. This is because the new rate is not paid until the first assessment period that begins on or after 8 April.

Charity Turn2us sets out an example. Your assessment period began on 26 March. It runs for a complete calendar month so ended on 25 April.

Payments are made a week after the first assessment period comes to an end – so you receive the payment on 2 May. But because the assessment period started before 8 April, it was at the old rate.

A new assessment period would begin on 26 April and end on 25 May. So the new full rate would be paid on 1 June.

Anyone who had their last assessment period before 8 April will have to wait until June to receive the increased benefit payments.

What changes have been made to universal credit which mean more people have to work?

Around 180,000 people will have to look for more work as the DWP changed the rules for universal credit in May.

People who were working fewer than 18 hours a week on national living wage will now have to seek extra work, when previously they only had to work 15 hours.

From 13 May, the administrative earnings threshold (AET) – the minimum amount people on universal credit are expected to earn every month if they are fit to work – increased.

It means individuals now have to earn £892 per month, which is 18 hours a week on national living wage. Couples have to earn £1,437, which is 29 hours a week on national living wage.

Read more here.

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How do I know if I am eligible for benefits in June 2024?

You could be entitled to benefits and tax credits if you are working or unemployed, sick or disabled, a parent, a young person, an older person or a veteran. You can use a benefits calculator to find out what you might be entitled to claim – including from Turn2Us, Policy in Practice and entitledto.

Citizens Advice offers information and services to help people and they can advise you as to what financial support is available from the government to help you. You can also find local advice services here.

The government’s Help for Households website explains what other support you could be eligible for – and we’ve got a round-up of all the cost of living help available to households here.

Are there any more cost of living payments planned for 2024?

There are no more cost of living payments planned by the DWP for 2024.

The last one should have hit bank accounts by February 22, if you were eligible.

If you think you should have had a payment but you can’t see it in your bank account, you can report it through the government’s website.

Before reporting a missing payment, you should check your bank, building society or credit union account, or your payment exception service voucher receipt.

Find out more about the cost of living payment here.

Big Issue is demanding an end to poverty this general election. Will you sign our open letter to party leaders?

Where else can I get cost of living help?

Benefits aren’t stretching far enough in the cost of living crisis – but there are other options out there for people who need it.

People who are struggling financially may be eligible for charitable grants. You can find out what grants might be available to you using Turn2Us’ grant search on the charity’s website. There are a huge range of grants available for different people – including those who are bereaved, disabled, unemployed, redundant, ill, a carer, veteran, young person or old person. Grants are also usually available to people who have no recourse to public funds and cannot claim welfare benefits. 

If you are unable to pay your bills, your local council may have a scheme that can help you. Local councils may be able to give you debt advice, help you get hold of furniture and support you through food and fuel poverty. Your council may also have a local welfare assistance scheme, also known as crisis support. You can also find out what support your council offers through End Furniture Poverty’s local welfare assistance finder or by contacting your local authority directly.

You can find your local food bank through the Trussell Trust’s website or the IFAN’s member’s map. You can also call the Trussell Trust’s free helplines and talk to a trained adviser. It’s 0808 208 2138 if you live in England or Wales, and 0800 915 4604 if you live in Northern Ireland. You should contact your local council if you live in Scotland.

There’s lots more cost of living help available to people who need it – we round it up here.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? We want to hear from you. Get in touch and tell us more.

Universal credit falls short of the money people need to afford the basics they need to survive.

Millions of people in the UK are going without food, falling behind on bills and living in cold and damp homes as benefits fail to cover the cost of living.

New research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found that nearly one million people are only £10 a week away from falling into poverty. That includes 200,000 children.

• Nearly one million people only £10 a week away from poverty, study finds
• Universal credit claimants lose more than £1bn a year to ‘automatic DWP deductions’
• Next government must increase universal credit so people have enough money to survive

Around seven million households across the country had gone without essentials like showers, clothing or toiletries in the last six months, or had gone hungry or skipped meals in the last 30 days.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Trussell Trust and the Big Issue, backed by more than 100 organisations, are calling for an ‘essentials guarantee’ to be implemented into universal credit so people can at least afford the basics they need to live.

It is one of the asks in the Big Issue’s Blueprint for Change, which sets out how the next government can end poverty for good. So how would an essentials guarantee work? How much should universal credit increase? And how can you show your support? We explain all you need to know.

How much does universal credit need to increase so people can afford the essentials?

Universal credit must be at least £120 a week for people to afford the essentials, according to estimations by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

That means that the standard allowance for universal credit for people aged 25 and over falls short by around £30 every week – or £120 every month.

For people aged 25 and under, the shortfall is even higher, at around £48 every week.

Couples aged 25 and over are left £57 out of pocket each week between them, and younger couples are £87 short every week.

How much money do people spend on essentials?

Single adults need £120 a week to afford their basic essentials, not including housing costs.

Let’s break that down. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimates that around £39 goes on food and alcoholic drinks for the average adult. People spend roughly £27 each week on electricity and gas. Water comes in at just £6 and it’s the same cost for clothes and shoes. There’s £9 on communications – like phone bills, internet and postage. Travel’s about £16, and those extra costs like toiletries, cleaning materials, haircuts and bank charges are around £15. All that together is £120.

Couples save a bit of money when living together – so they’ll spend around £100 each on the above.

Universal credit just isn’t stretching to cover this. And it’s important to stress that these are essentials: things we all need to live and work in society. It doesn’t include luxuries which we should all be entitled too – the little bit of cash to spend on going for a drink with friends, for a holiday or day trip with your kids. Many would argue that these too are essentials, because they are vital to our mental health.

But at the moment, the bleak reality is that universal credit claimants cannot even afford food or heating. It’s why more people than ever are being forced to turn to food banks for the first time, with food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network handing out more than three million food parcels in the year up to March.

More than half (55%) people on universal credit ran out of food and could not afford any more in January this year, the Trussell Trust found.

How would an essentials guarantee work?

The essentials guarantee would make it policy that universal credit must protect people from going without the essentials. There would be a legal minimum embedded into the universal credit system.

There would be an independent process to regularly recommend the essentials guarantee level, based on the cost of essentials (such as food, utilities and vital household items) and adjusted to inflation.

The standard allowance would need to at least meet this amount and any deductions to universal credit, such as debt repayments to the government, would not be allowed to reduce support below that level.

New analysis by the New Economics Foundation has found that half of people on universal credit are having money deducted from their payments each month, losing an average of £63.

How much would an essentials guarantee cost?

The essentials guarantee is estimated to cost an additional £19billion a year in 2024/2025, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. That’s not insignificant, but it would also mean huge savings for public services.

Poverty leads to poorer physical and mental health, increased demand on the NHS and social care services, and higher crime rates.

The health impacts of poverty also mean that people are less likely to be able to contribute in a substantial way to the workforce and economy. Children living in poverty are less likely to thrive in education, meaning their chances of thriving in the workforce in the future are less likely.

Child poverty currently costs the taxpayer a staggering £39billion annually.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has suggested that the essentials guarantee could be introduced gradually, such as being embedded at a lower level to begin with. It also means that people have a bit more money to spend on essentials, benefitting high streets and local economies.

How many people on universal credit would benefit from an essentials guarantee?

Around 8.8 million low-income families would benefit from an essentials guarantee. That includes 3.9 million families with children.

Over half of all working-age families in the UK with a disabled family member would benefit.

Then you’ve got the wider benefits for the population as a whole – NHS staff would be under less pressure, food banks would get some relief, local councils would no longer have to help as many people get out of financial crisis, and we would see safer streets because of reduced crime rates… In the long term, it’s an investment for the taxpayer.

Who supports the essentials guarantee?

A petition from the Trussell Trust reached more than 150,000 signatures from people showing support for the essentials guarantee.

According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 72% of the public support the essentials guarantee and only 8% oppose it. Around 82% of people who voted Labour in 2019 support it, 83% of Liberal Democrat voters, and 62% of Conservative voters support the policy.

The work and pensions committee, a cross-party group of MPs, recommended that the government introduce a new benchmark for benefits levels which takes into account living costs, such as that set out in the essentials guarantee.

It also recommended an “uprating guarantee” which would give claimants the assurance that working-age benefits and local housing allowance will be increased each year.

Stephen Timms, the chair of the work and pensions committee, said: “We have heard plenty of evidence that benefits are currently at a level that leaves many unable to afford daily essentials or meet the unavoidable extra costs associated with having a health impairment or disability.

“The government has previously said that it is not possible to come up with an objective way of deciding what benefits should be. Our recommendations are a response to that challenge, and the ball is now back in the government’s court.”

Now, it will be up to the next government to make the change and so far no party has committed to an essentials guarantee.

More than 100 organisations – including the Big Issue, New Economics Foundation, Centrepoint, StepChange and more – have backed the calls for an essentials guarantee.

You can sign the Big Issue’s petition calling for the next government to commit to ending poverty, such as through the implementation of an essentials guarantee, below. You might also want to email your MP to show your support.

Big Issue is demanding an end to poverty this general election. Will you sign our open letter to party leaders?

Around half a million people have been left without their child benefit payment due to a technical glitch at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). 

Parents have slammed the error at HMRC, as a processing issue meant that around 30% of payments scheduled for Monday (3 June) did not go through. The tax authority has apologised and said these payments will now go ahead on Wednesday (5 June). 

It has added that anyone who has incurred a loss due to the late payment can apply for redress. 

Several parents have commented on social media about being left “hungry” due to the delay, with one recipient writing on X: “Still no child benefit in, which should have been in yesterday. This is ridiculous, payments have been rejected for my energy and now I don’t have anything for food.”

Another parent wrote: “Unfortunately it won’t be good enough as loads of people had overdrafts to be paid… myself included. Are you going to pay extra for that?”

One parent wrote that the error had caused her to miss a vital doctor’s appointment as she wasn’t able to pay for after-school care.

“I have breast cancer, relied on my child benefit to pay for after school childcare while I go to my pre-op assessment, which I now can’t attend so I have to delay,” she wrote. “If the delay means I require a mastectomy because of YOUR mess up, who is liable?”

#ChildBenefit 500,000 missed payments update. It now says the problem is fixed and you will be paid on Wednesday. If you're out of pocket (eg bounced payment elsewhere) you will be able to put in a claim from it. Full info here… https://t.co/q8woA43UcY

— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) June 3, 2024

With child benefits, parents can claim £25.60 per week for one child and £16.95 for each additional child. 

The two-child benefit cap, introduced in 2017, means that child tax credit and universal credit is restricted to the first two children in most households. It means that families claiming benefits who have a third or subsequent child after April 2017 are denied more than £3,000 a year per extra child compared with families whose kids were born sooner.

Around 1.5 million children live in families whose benefits are reduced by the two-child limit, which has widely been called to be scrapped.  

• 30 hours free childcare: Who is eligible and how do I apply in 2024?
• How UK’s two-child benefit cap is trapping kids in poverty and pushing families to ‘breaking point’

HMRC said it was “sorry” for the delay to payments, and that it understood “the concern and difficulty this may have caused”. 

A HMRC spokesman added in a statement: “We have now fixed the problem and are putting measures in place to prevent this from happening again.

“Affected customers will now receive their payments on Wednesday morning. Anyone who has incurred a direct financial loss because of the delayed payment can apply for redress by completing our online complaints form.”

It added that payments scheduled for Tuesday (4 June) would be made on time.

We are very sorry some customers didn’t receive their scheduled Child Benefit payments as expected and we understand the concern and difficulty this may have caused.

We’ve fixed the problem and affected customers will now receive their payments on Wednesday morning (5th June). pic.twitter.com/SmufRSk7Ti

— HM Revenue & Customs (@HMRCgovuk) June 3, 2024

Journalist Kevin Maguire explained that while the glitch at HMRC should be criticised, the “bigger picture” is how difficult the cost of living crisis has made life for families.

“The screw-up is unacceptable and that incompetence and ineptitude is hugely damaging, but the bigger picture is the number of people who live [hand] to mouth, paycheque to paycheque, payment to payment, in the world’s sixth biggest economy,” he said on Good Morning Britain.

“They’re [families] in incredible hardship, and the blight that has on their lives and the lives of their children, that’s what it highlights.”

The Children’s Prosperity Plan charity added: “The recent failure in HMRC’s system that delayed child benefit payments for nearly half a million families is a stark indication that our current welfare infrastructure is not up to the task.

“This disruption not only caused immediate financial hardship but also exposed the vulnerabilities in our support systems.

“It’s essential that we develop a more reliable and responsive welfare system to ensure that no family has to face unnecessary delays in receiving the support they crucially depend on. We cannot allow technical failures to compromise the wellbeing of our children and families.”

Big Issue is demanding an end to poverty this general election. Will you sign our open letter to party leaders?

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? We want to hear from you. Get in touch and tell us more.