Benefits must rise with inflation.

Freezing benefits threatens to plunge families even further into debt and poverty nationwide.

Although inflation appears to be slowing down, the cost-of-living is still having a significant impact with low income households hit especially hard. People coming to Citizens Advice for help with debt who are in receipt of benefits currently have an average negative budget of £30.50 each month. If benefits aren’t increased this will increase to £80.

Failing to uprate benefits will leave millions of people on low-incomes significantly worse off.

With the proportion of those living in a negative budget increasing from around half to almost two-thirds and relying on Universal credit and other benefits to keep themselves and their families afloat, any decrease in value to these sources of financial support could create a nationwide disaster. Freezing benefits could lead to a £26 per month real-terms cut in the Universal Credit standard allowance, and a £77 per month reduction in the main award for a couple with two children.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) has been frozen since 2020. Leaving it frozen will only worsen the budget shortfalls people on Universal Credit currently face.

Another real-terms cut to benefits would come after almost 10 years of failing to consistently increase benefits in line with inflation. This has resulted in a £24 gap between what the value of benefits should be and where it actually sits. This will rise to more than £50 per month if benefits are frozen again.

It is vital that the chancellor commits to uprating benefits, and unfreezing LHA during the upcoming Autumn Statement.

The government must commit to raising benefits by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to prevent catastrophic impacts, particularly on in-work Universal Credit claimants.

We need your help - Contact your local MP

Your engagement with local MPs throughout the cost-of-living crisis has led to vital government measures, providing a lifeline for our clients. However, inflationary pressures continue to bite and households continue to find themselves in a negative budget. For this reason, our priority remains to protect households this winter, while presenting long term policy solutions for the cost-of-living crisis.

The Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023 is fast approaching and we are concerned that the government may not increase benefits in line with inflation.

The next few weeks are critical.

Please call or write a letter to your MP(s) in the next week to share our ask to uprate benefits in line with inflation next April.

We have provided an MP engagement pack which includes the following:

• A template email to go to your local MP asking them to raise the issue with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

• Social media and local press materials

• A slidedeck with data and insights showing how households will face significant shortfalls if benefits aren’t uprated by inflation