Universal Credit £20 a week uplift ‘may be extended’ by six more months

A temporary uplift in Universal Credit of £20 a week which was put in place due to the coronavirus outbreak may be extended by another six months, claim reports.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Prime Minister Boris Johnson have come to an agreement after a series of talks, states the Telegraph.

The chancellor was thought to be waiting for the plans to be signed off by the PM last week, reports ITV’s Peston.

And, the Sun claimed that the extra monetary support would stay in place so long as coronavirus restrictions were happening.

If the extension is given the go-ahead the plans to scrap the boost – which totals £1,040 a year – from April 2021 will be dropped.

The scheme will be slowly phased out until it is only in place for the poorest of families.

The chancellor had been considering replacing the uplift with a one off £500 payment, equal to six months of payments, to everyone entitled to it.

However, this has been axed, state reports.

Rishi Sunak has been facing pressure from MPs to make the uplift permanent to avoid families dropping into poverty.

However, the Treasury has been reluctant to continue the top-up as it is estimated to cost taxpayers around £6billion a year.

The boost was introduced last March to support the poorest families through the Covid-19 pandemic.

The extension to the payments has not been formally approved and it is unlikely that the public will be notified until the Budget next week.

It’s also thought that the chancellor will extend the furlough scheme and that tax rises are imminent.

Richard Lane, director of external affairs at StepChange Debt Charity, told the Sun : “A six month extension risks simply kicking the can down the road, leaving households to face significant uncertainty when unemployment is expected to be at its peak.”

Anyone who claims Universal Credit will receive the extra money automatically.