Thanet Greens are among 19 Thanet Community Groups who have signed an open letter with Tracey Emin CBE RA asking for a U-turn on the imminent Universal Credit reduction given its impact on Thanet.
In Thanet, one in thee children are classed as living in poverty. And one in four households are on Universal Credit.
This month (September 2021), the income of our friends and neighbours on Universal Credit is expected to drop by £1,040, or £86 a month. This will impact 18,839 individuals in Thanet, who have rent to pay, Council Tax to pay, children to feed, and utility bills to pay. Of these 18.839 people, 34% of them are in work.
The reduction in Universal Credit is guaranteed to impact the children of those claiming Universal Credit. There are 9,010 children classed as living in poverty in Thanet (after housing costs). This is the largest number of children of all Kent authorities according to the Kent County Council analytics department.
33% of Thanet children, or one in three children, now live in poverty. This percentage has increased over the past five years, and with the impact of the pandemic we could see this deteriorate further.
This reduction to Universal Credit will mean that the spending power of Thanet, literally overnight, will reduce by £19.5 million a year. This will negatively affect local businesses and could lead to further unemployment in the area.
We therefore request that the UK government do not cut Universal Credit by £1,040 per year for our 18,839 friends and neighbours in Thanet, over a third of whom are in work, but keep this safeguard in place for those in our community who need it the most.
Further information on poverty and universal credit in Kent can be found here.
PRIMARY SIGNATORIES:
- Thanet Labour
- Thanet Food Link
- Our Kitchen on the Isle of Thanet CIC
- Carl Whitewood, Ramsgate Salvation Army
- Thanet Iceberg Project
- Revd Dawn Watson
- Tracey Emin CBE RA
- East Kent Mind
- Thanet Greens
- A Better Cliftonville
- The Gap Project, Broadstairs
- GMB Trade Union
- Margate Independent Foodbank CIC
- Thanet Community Churches
- Rabbi Cliff Cohen, Thanet & District Reform Synagogue
- GRASS Cliftonville CIC
- The Margate School
- The Pavilion Youth & Community Café/Zone Youth Club, Broadstairs
- Cliftonville Cultural Space