Policy and Government

New CAP briefing: Extend the lifeline

17 November 2020

We entered this pandemic with a social security system that could not give families adequate support. The Government recognised this and took swift action, implementing a £20/week lifeline for those with Universal Credit and Working Tax Credits. Families in receipt of legacy benefits must be thrown the same lifeline despite facing the same circumstances. 15% of CAP clients were in this position. Nine in ten (88%) of these households are amongst the poorest 10% in the UK, often living on as little as £74.35 a week for everything except housing costs. This briefing paper sets out the need to extend the lifeline to legacy benefit claimants during the second wave, and the difference such an uplift would make.

Read the full document here