Councillors back call to keep Universal Credit boost

A motion calling on the Government to reconsider phasing out the £20 weekly uplift in September, and asking for it to be made permanent, was supported by Labour, Liberal Democrat and independent Telford and Wrekin councillors at the full meeting of Telford & Wrekin Council.

Councillor Angela McClements said Universal Credit claims had increased across the borough and more than doubled in 16 of its 29 wards since March 2020, leaving 6,205 families potentially affected by the withdrawal.

The main opposition Conservative group abstained on the vote.

Leader Nigel Dugmore said the rise, introduced in April 2020, was always intended as a “temporary measure”, and said “repaying the cost of the pandemic” early would reduce the future burden.

The motion, tabled by Councillor McClements – a Labour member who represents Arleston – said: “This funding has been a lifesaver for many families during the pandemic, many of whom are in work or want to be in work.

“Over six million families, which include 6,205 families in Telford & Wrekin, are set to lose £1,000 a year.”

Councillor McClements told the chamber just over a third of Universal Credit claimants were working, and many of those were still struggling.

“That physical impact is never more apparent than when I see the number of families queueing outside Arleston Community Centre on Saturday morning for food parcels,” she said.

Councillor Dugmore said: “Many temporary measures brought in during the pandemic are coming to a close as the economy recovers, and already we’ve seen unemployment across the country and here in Telford and Wrekin fall.

“The cost of the pandemic will have to be repaid, and the sooner we start the lesser the burden will be on future generations, the very people we say need help.”

Councillor Dugmore, who works as a pharmacist superintendent, said: “In many businesses, including my own, financial assistance that was given by the government is now going to be started to be repaid.

“We’re all in this together, and we have to be realistic.”

Deputy Conservative leader Adrian Lawrence pointed out that, earlier this year, the Labour-run council passed a budget that included a council tax rise of just under five per cent – the highest rise possible without a referendum.

“You can’t target this one benefit uplift coming to the end but then yourselves increase taxes as much as you can,” he said.

Council leader Shaun Davies said the effect of the termination would “cut across every ward”.

He noted that Muxton – the ward Councillor Dugmore and Councillor Lawrence share – had seen a 140 per cent increase in Universal Credit claims, while in Edgmond and Ercall Magna, which the Conservatives held with an 855-vote majority at the 2019 election, the rate was 150 per cent.

“These are people who are working their socks off, often in two or three low-paid jobs that are getting a little bit of help from the state to get on,” he said.

“Do the right thing for your residents.”

Liberal Democrat leader Bill Tomlinson said: “We were eating in a restaurant and got chatting to the lady serving. It was her fifth job. She was doing five jobs trying to make ends meet.

“We need to support people who are really struggling.

“To then be told, from September, that this lifeline is going as well, is just going to be too much.”

Conservative Tim Nelson said the Labour group had repeatedly “set traps” for him and his Conservative colleagues by tabling motions asking them to condemn a Conservative government.

He said motions on social justice issues should be discussed between the groups beforehand, and could be put forward jointly.

He added that it was an “abomination” that people have to rely on food banks, as “no-one should have to go begging for charity to feed their families”.