CAmpaign against increased universal credit SANCTIONS

write to your mp to reverse the uc work requirement increases

You can find your local MP’s email address here.

LETTER TO your MP: repeal greater sanctions for those on universal credit

“Dear [insert MP name],

I am a member of your constituency and I am writing to you to ask that the government repeal the recent changes to increase work requirements and work coach meetings for lead carers on Universal Credit. We are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis and forcing single parents on UC with children as young as three to work 30 hours a week is unsustainable and will have hugely negative impacts in terms of finances and mental health for single parent families.

Findings from a five-year academic study into benefits conditionality concluded that sanctions were ineffective and pushed people further into poverty. What is actually needed - according to the evidence - is more flexibility around benefit conditionality, greater understanding of single parents’ caring responsibilities and more specialised support at Jobcentres.

Forcing single parents into work simply won’t work. Research from the campaign group Single Parent Rights shows that 64% of unemployed single parents could not find affordable childcare. This isn’t surprising given 43% of local authorities in England don’t have sufficient childcare for under twos, a figure which is increasing year on year. What’s more, research shows that working longer hours negatively impacts the finances of single parents.

The requirement for parents to meet a job coach once every month is equally worrying. How will this work in practice for parents without childcare? The suggestion that these meetings are helpful to parents to secure work highlights the lack of understanding of how the system works. These meetings are little more than tick box exercises which are often another challenge for single parents who have no childcare.

Even with the 30 hours of “funded” childcare things are challenging for single parents as the funding is below actual costs and doesn’t increase with inflation. The funding is also only available during term time and many nurseries stipulate when and how the hours can be taken making it incredibly challenging for single parents to plan work around it all.

When a single parent is able to claim the 30 hours of childcare, these hours can’t all be spent in work. What about the time required to commute? Or for (legally required) lunch breaks? Then there are other non-work related reasons single parents need childcare, such as taking one child to a medical appointment.

The changes being proposed by the government risk pushing single parents into a position where they cannot afford to make ends meet and cannot meet the needs of their children. We urge the government to revoke these changes to UC immediately and develop a coherent workforce plan that doesn’t involve forcing single parents into unsustainable hours which will have a negative impact on their families.

I look forward to hearing from you on this matter and learning how the government plans to address the concerns I have raised here.

Yours sincerely,

[insert name and postcode (your MP won’t be able to respond unless you can show you are a constituent of theirs)]”

write to the Prime minister

You can use this form to write to the PM. Below is a shorter version of the email to meet the word limit. Once you send it you must then click the link in the email response.

Subject: UC Sanctions will push single parents into crisis

Dear Mr Sunak,

Please reconsider your recent changes to UC work conditionality. Forcing single parents on UC with 3 year olds to work 30 hours a week will have hugely negative impacts on the finances and mental health of single parents. Research shows sanctions push people further into poverty. We need more flexibility, greater understanding of caring responsibilities and specialised support. Research from Single Parent Rights shows that 64 percent of unemployed single parents couldn't find affordable childcare. This barrier won’t disappear over night. Even with 30 hours of funded childcare things are challenging as it is below cost, doesn’t increase with inflation, isn’t available during school holidays, and is inflexible. This is without considering the time for commutes, breaks, or other non-work related reasons single parents need childcare. The changes made risk pushing single parents into crisis. We urge the Government to reverse these plans immediately.

Regards,

write to government ministers to ask them to reverse this policy

You can write to the Minister for the DWP, Mel Stride, at the Ministerial correspondence team on ministers@dwp.gov.uk and to the Chancellor on public.enquiries@hmtreasury.gov.uk You can also write to your MSP in Scotland and MA in Wales, but ultimately it is Westminster which need to change the law.

what if i receive a response?

If you receive a response that is great news. Please do let us know as it helps us build up a picture of what MPs and Minsters are saying. It might be that you want to respond back to them. If you would like support with that just drop us an email with the response you received to singleparentrights@gmail.com Alternatively, we have provided a response to the standard DWP Ministerial team response members have been receiving to date. More details are available here. Please feel free to use this/ amend it to suit your needs.

uc Policy change background information

On 25th October the DWP announced the immediate introduction of additional work requirements for lead carers of 3 year olds, meaning claimants with children aged 3-12 years would be required to be available for work for up to 30 hours per week. For more information on this policy, why it won’t work and what we have been doing to address it visit our current campaign action page here.

TAKE MORE ACTION

Take a look at our take action page for other campaign activities.