More than 70 more charities and community groups have called on Conservative leadership candidates to double financial support for those worst affected by the cost-of-living crisis.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s (JRF) letter, signed by charities including Oxfam GB, Mencap and Age UK, urged Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss to double government support for people on the lowest incomes when one of them takes over as prime minister next month.
It said that while the government has already pledged £1,200 to people on means-tested benefits, this is “no longer sufficient” due to its failure to match the rising cost-of-living.
JRF wrote that energy bills will see low-income households pay £1,800 more than last year. Coupled with an additional £1,000 rise on food and other essential bills, that £1,200 payment only covers about half the rise.
The charities’ letter closes with: “You were both senior members of a government that pledged to ensure that the most vulnerable and least well off get the support they need. It is only right that this be your top priority should you take office.”
Recent reports have claimed that the Treasury is planning to cut gas and electricity bills by a further £400 in January via a lending scheme for energy providers.
Contenders ‘failing to grasp urgency’ of crisis
Paul Kissack, chief executive at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said that when Britain faces a national emergency, it is at its best when it “steps up and takes determined and creative action”, such as the furlough scheme during the Covid pandemic, to protect people.
“The nation faces another national emergency now, and people rightly expect the government to act to offer protection. Instead, we are seeing a government asleep at the wheel, and leadership contenders failing to grasp the scale and urgency of the crisis,” he said.
“Even before the current crisis the social security system failed to cover the essentials, degraded by years of cuts. People are already selling their possessions, taking on risky debt and building up arrears they may never be able to pay back. And things are about to get far worse. Planning for a substantial support package needs to start immediately. Without it, vulnerable people will face a catastrophe on a vast scale when winter sets in. The consequences of sitting idly by are unthinkable.”
Save the Children: ‘The government must do more’
Save the Children is also a signatory of the letter. The charity’s director of UK impact, Dan Paskins, said: “When energy bills rocket in the autumn, families who already have it tough are going to find things even harder. Parents will face impossible choices over whether to prioritise feeding their children or heating their homes.
“We have signed this letter because the UK government must do more – and fast.
“At the very least, the government should double the emergency support package announced in May to ensure families are shielded from a catastrophic winter. The most efficient way to provide this support would be through further payments through the social security system."
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