DEEPLY CONCERNING NUMBER OF FAMILIES FACING BENEFIT DEDUCTIONS WARNS NEWCASTLE NORTH MP

Answers provided to Written Parliamentary Questions tabled by Catherine McKinnell MP from the Department for Work and Pensions have confirmed that nearly 4,000 children in Newcastle North are in households subject to benefit deductions, further exacerbating the cost of living crisis.

Responding to the figures, Catherine McKinnell MP commented:

“I am deeply concerned that 3,900 children in Newcastle North are in households subject to Universal Credit deductions, losing an average of £76 per month. 

“With the cost of living crisis and increasing food prices, I worry that this will push ever more children into the devastation of child poverty, which is already worryingly high in Newcastle and the North East.

“It is particularly alarming that more than half of these deductions are for Universal Credit advance repayments, which Labour colleagues and I warned would place families under further pressure. Families are being forced to repay money that they were given to cover their basic needs. 

 “The Government must take immediate action to support families and prevent further children from being pushed into child poverty. We also need to urgently and fundamentally reform the broken Universal Credit system to prevent further families facing deductions for advances and ensure Universal Credit works from day one”

 ENDS

 NOTES – Written Parliamentary Question UIN 136691 tabled by Catherine McKinnell MP responded to by the Department for Work and Pensions highlighting 1) number of children in Universal Credit households 2) the total and average sums of deductions for Universal Credit households with children 3) the proportion of total deductions that is attributed to advance repayments for Universal Credit households with children.

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-01-31/136691