The TUC believes that the new
policy will make newly unemployed people easy prey for loan sharks, with even
the government admitting that the change may increase reliance on short-term
loans.
The government plans to make all
new claimants for Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or Employment Support
Allowance (ESA) wait seven days before they are eligible for help (at the
moment they have to wait three days). The committee’s consultation
reveals that, according to the government’s own assessment, JSA claimants
will lose £40 on average, while disabled people claiming ESA will lose
£50.
The government’s impact
assessment of the change, published by the SSAC as part of its consultation,
shows that over 1.3 million people a year will be affected.
The government also believes
that disabled people will be disadvantaged by the new policy and that under
Universal Credit, “the potential hardship for claimants is much
greater.”
TUC General
Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Forcing
people to wait for job support will not help anyone find work. Instead it will
make them easy prey for loan sharks. This has nothing to do with making work
pay. It is simply a mean attack on the welfare safety net and could affect any
one of us.
“It won’t
matter how long anyone has had a job or how much they have contributed to the
system, they will all suffer the same penalty. The vast majority of people who
lose a job thankfully find another one within a few months, but this is when
they need help to tide them over between jobs. That is why we have a national
insurance system to which we contribute when we are in work – a system
that is now under attack.”
NOTES TO
EDITORS:
- SSAC&rsqu
o;s responsibilities are to advise the government on social security matters
and to consider and report on social security regulations. The full SSAC press
release and consultation documentation on this change can be downloaded from
the website at http://ssac.independent.gov.uk/news/press-releases/23-05-14.pdf.
- All TUC press releases can be
found at www.tuc.org.uk
- Follow the TUC on Twitter:
@tucnews
Contacts:
Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248 M: 07778
158175 E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth T: 020 7467 1372 M: 07717
531150 E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk