Universal Credit: The Challenge Ahead

The Briefing Room

At the start of the first pandemic lockdown the government announced a £20 uplift for those receiving Universal Credit, the benefit designed to help those of working age with their living costs. It made clear at the time that the extra money was temporary and, in the coming weeks, payments will start to be reduced.

But is a cliff-edge drop in the income of more than two-and-a-half million families the right step to be taking? And how best are the UK's poorest to be supported with the country still recovering from the pandemic?

David Aaronovitch and his guests evaluate how well Universal Credit has been helping those in and out of work and what the uplift has achieved for families and single person households.

Is giving more money to claimants the most effective way of helping them in the post-pandemic economy? Or, with prices rising for household essentials, should the government now be thinking about other measures to help those struggling to make ends meet?

How do we help the least well-off while being fair to taxpayers and not subsidising employers paying low wages?

Those taking part (in order of appearance): Fran Bennett of the Department for Social Policy & Intervention at Oxford University; Tom Waters, Senior Research Economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies; Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government; and Deven Ghelani, founder of the social policy business, Policy in Practice.

Producers Simon Coates, Jim Booth and Kirsteen Knight Editor Jasper Corbett