CLOSER NEWS REPORT
Families are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, but UK homes are missing out on £19 billion a year in welfare payments
When a friend When a friend asked Lisa Salloway if she fancied a catchup over a cup of coffee, she felt awkward as she tried to think of an excuse to politely decline the offer. She didn’t want to admit that after she’d paid rent on her one-bed house and all her bills had come out, she had just £100 to buy food with and live off for the month.
Lisa, 50, who works in admin and lives in East Anglia, says, “It was a real struggle to live on my wage. I used a slow cooker and would bulk out meat dishes with vegetables, or I just ate beans on toast. I was trying so hard to stay out of debt. But I’d end up using my credit card to keep out of my overdraft and then needing a small loan to pay off the credit card. It was a horrible cycle.”
With rising living costs, money was always a worry, and Lisa feared she might have to move back in with her parents. Then, one day, while scrolling through social media, she spotted a post from Christians Against Poverty (CAP), encouraging people to check their online calculator to see if they might be entitled to benefits. “I worked so assumed I wouldn’t be entitled to anything,” says LisWhen a friend
SHOCKED
But CAP’s online post kept coming back to Lisa’s mind, and eventually, she thought it wouldn’t do any harm to enter her details – and she was shocked to discover she was missing out on money she was entitled to. Lisa says, “I couldn’t believe it when I read that I could claim approximately £250 a month in Universal Credit. I thought I must have entered my information wrong so I did it a few more times, but it came out the same.”
Lisa’s story isn’t a unique case. In fact, UK households are missing out on £19 billion a year in unclaimed welfare benefits, according to the social policy software and analytics company Policy In Practice. The complexity of the system of claiming and the perception of Government “handouts” as “shameful” is believed to be stopping people from accessing much-needed support.
At a time when food banks are struggling to meet demand and people are running up debt, benefits that could help millions of people are going unclaimed. Nearly three million eligible families do not claim council tax support, and it’s estimated that 1.3 million households are eligible for but do not take up the UK’s main working-age benefit, Universal Credit.
DIFFICULTY
Gareth McNab, CAP’s director of external affairs, says, “People are relying on credit and borrowing from friends and family. With inflation drawing people into financial difficulty, those who might previously have been seen to be on a “good” income could q
