Powys County Councillor Matthew Dorrance has slammed the UK Government over the Universal Credit cut which came into effect yesterday.
Cllr Dorrance said that new analysis of the cut, which will adversely impact more than 8,000 families in Powys, revealed that families will be £220 worse off by Christmas.
The withdrawal of the “temporary uplift” in Universal Credit comes in on Wednesday, October 6, leaving recipients facing 11 weeks of reduced support before December 25th.
The cut comes amid a wider squeeze for working families including rising energy prices, empty supermarket shelves and the proposed National Insurance hike.
The Universal Credit cut will see 8,213 Powys families lose £1,040 a year – at a cost of £9.6 million to the local economy.
The head of Welsh Labour for Powys County Council said: “Working families in Powys are taking an absolute battering from the UK Conservative Government. Higher tax, lower support and rising energy prices – this is a perfect storm and local families are being abandoned by the UK Government just when they need them most.
“Ministers like to pretend that this crisis won’t hit families hard but the truth is that those on Universal Credit will be down £220 by Christmas alone – that’s more than half the average family Christmas budget.
“People in Powys need real support, but all they get from this Conservative UK Government are empty slogans and a cost of living crisis that could ruin Christmas. Powys deserves better.”
However leader of the Welsh Conservatives at Powys council Aled Davies previously hit back at Welsh Labour councillors who he described as being only interested in “grandstanding and political point scoring”.
Cllr Davie also condemned the use of the word “cut” with the reminder that the uplift was only ever supposed to be temporary during the pandemic.
Cllr Davies previously said: “The £20 uplift to Universal Credit was introduced to support households facing economic shock and financial disruption as a result of the pandemic. More than eight thousand families in Powys received an additional £1,000 a year.
“The Chancellor and the Government were extremely clear to MPs and the public that the £20 per week uplift was temporary and a pandemic response, just as furlough, grants and the Self Employed Support Scheme were.
“The Government kept the uplift as the economy began to get back on its feet. It is hard to argue that we should take support away from those in employment, while maintaining this pandemic measure also.”
He added: “Fundamentally this is not a cut, and to imply that a temporary increase, that was always announced as a temporary increase is a cut is ludicrous.”