More than 3,000 people in Bracknell Forest could be ‘£1,000-a-year worse off’ if the government slash Universal Credit.

Yesterday, Boris Johnson was under pressure to extend the £20-a-week uplift to benefits which is set to be scrapped in April.

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Bracknell News:

Labour,made a vote on the planned cuts in the House of Commons yesterday (January 18).

Here is everything you need to know…

What is the uplift?

In March, the government increased the standard allowance in Universal Credit and the basic element in Working Tax Credit by £20-a-week for one year.

This meant that one single person aged 25 or over, claiming Universal Credit would get £409.89 a month instead of £317.82.

But this is planned to stop in April.

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What is the government doing about it?

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer warned Boris Johnson that the planned cut could leave millions of people without an extra £1,000-a-year during the pandemic.

He has urged the Prime Minister to extend the uplift.

The party used its opposition day debate in the Commons to force a vote on the plans.

The motion states: “This house believes that the Government should stop the planned cut in Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit in April and give certainty today to the six million families for whom it is worth an extra £1,000 a year.”

How many people in Bracknell Forest claim Universal Credit?

More than 3,000 people in Bracknell Forest were claiming Universal Credit on November 12 (the latest data available).

Here’s a breakdown of how many people could be worse off if the planned cuts go ahead:

Bracknell Forest:

  • Men - 1,935
  • Women - 1,520

How did our local MP vote?

Bracknell MP James Sunderland abstained against the motion put forward by Labour.

He said: "The vote yesterday in Parliament was a non-binding motion introduced by Labour during their Opposition Day.  Opposition Day motions have no basis in law and serve only to raise negative headlines against the Government.  

"Conservative MPs were whipped to abstain and overwhelmingly did so.  Universal Credit has responded well to Covid-19, offers a vital safety net to families and I believe that the Chancellor is well-placed to make the decision on whether to extend the uplift beyond March 2021. 

"The Government’s support to families and businesses during a global pandemic is unprecedented anywhere in the World and it did not need an opportunistic motion from the Opposition to undermine this. 

"I was therefore content to abstain as the matter is already being worked on". 

How will it impact the country?

The debate comes amid a warning from the Resolution Foundation that scrapping the £20 a week uplift will lead to a particularly tough 2021 for people with low incomes across the UK.

The think tank estimated that the stopping of the extra cash could drive relative poverty from 21 percent to 23 percent by 2024/25, pushing a further 730,000 children into poverty.