Government must extend universal credit uplift
Many freelances will suffer when the £20 a week increase ends in September.
David Ayrton, senior organiser freelance & digital, said:
“Ending the £20 a week uplift to Universal Credit at the end of September risks pushing even more journalists into deeper debt and potential poverty.
"This has been the experience of many freelances who have been forgotten because their taxation and working arrangements excluded them from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, and it will effect others with the end of furlough arrangements at the end of September.
"It is a negative action that will hit the livelihood of many working people and their families, including many journalists. The government must reconsider and maintain the uplift.”
Therese Coffey, Work and Pension Secretary, said the the pandemic universal credit uplift of £20 a week will be withdrawn as planned at the end of September, despite cross party opposition to the move.