A petition has been launched in Wokingham calling on the Government to scrap planned benefit cuts.

The Government has announced that it will be suspending the £20 per week ‘uplift’ to those claiming Universal Credit.

The £20 per week uplift was introduced to help people on benefits cope with the difficulties of the coronavirus pandemic, but now the Government is planning to phase it out in October.

The Government is also reinstating the Minimum Income Floor (MIF). Self employed people can apply for benefits, but these are limited depending on how much the person earns. The MIF was suspended on April 6, 2020, which granted working people on benefits more money, but the MIF is now set to be reinstated in October as well.

The Wokingham Labour Party has launched a campaign calling on Wokingham’s Conservative MP Sir John Redwood to oppose the suspension of the £20 per week uplift and retain the suspension of the MIF.

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The petition is also demanding that Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Conservative, Uxbridge and South Ruislip) and Rishi Sunak (Conservative, Richmond), the Chancellor of the Exchequer, restore the £20 per week uplift and suspend the Minimum Income Floor for the self-employed.

Wokingham Labour Party leader Councillor Rachel Burgess (Norreys) said: “The £20 a week uplift to Universal Credit has kept many families in Wokingham constituency out of poverty and away from the food bank.

“This £20 a week cut by the Government will hit our least well of families and children the hardest. Many families that rely on Universal Credit contain an adult who is working, but they still need  Universal Credit  to help them buy essentials as many jobs simply do not pay enough.

“Self-employed people have benefited from the suspension of the Minimum Income Floor. Reinstating the Minimum Income Floor will hit the self-employed before they are back on their feet.

“Incredibly most people claiming Universal Credit only started claiming during the pandemic. Covid-19 hasn’t gone away, and neither has the need to support people who need it.”

Cllr Burgess then claimed that 4,500 children in Wokingham constituency are living in families where Universal Credit helps to boost income. She added that in her ward of Norreys, “over 700 people and 250 children” benefit from Universal Credit.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has asked Sir Redwood for a response to the Labour’s petition.

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You can sign the petition here.

Additionally, a Government e-petition to make the £20 per week uplift permanent has so far gathered 14,881 signatures.

Here is the number of people who have signed the petition in our area:

Wokingham: 15

Bracknell: 18

Reading East: 31

Reading West: 23

Newbury: 22

Windsor: 18

Maidenhead: 18

Slough: 9

You can sign the petition here.