Benefits claimants will no longer be entitled to a one-off £10 payment to help with Christmas costs under the government’s flagship welfare programme.
The tax-free payment made to people on certain benefits in the first week of December will be taken away once they are moved onto Universal Credit, the Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed today.
The move has been described as “another example of cruelty” by claimants, who will be forced to struggle through one of the hardest parts of the year without state help.
Speaking to the i, one former ESA recipient said: “What really angers me is it’s a cut that hasn’t even been publicly acknowledged.
“Somebody’s just decided that they’re not going to pay this any more, and we’ve been given no more information. “Eventually everyone will be on Universal Credit, so it’s a sneaky way to save money.
“They’re taking it away from everybody.
“Sure, it’s not a lot of money in this current climate, but it’s still £10 I would have spent on a gift for somebody else in my family.
“Our benefits are already being eroded, we’re already getting less money.”
“They’re making a cut without telling anybody. It’s another example of cruelty. It’s just death by cuts”.
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