Struggling family-of-four on Universal Credit ‘left with sandwiches for Christmas dinner’
A STRUGGLING family-of-four on Universal Credit claim they will have to eat sandwiches for Christmas dinner.
Neil Campbell and Jo Holbrook-Morris, who both claim Universal Credit are living on just £175 a week.
The parents-of-two have said that financial pressures mean they won't be able to have a proper Christmas dinner this year.
The family has put all its savings into a community farm project on Nunsthorpe Estate, Grimsby.
But a hold up in a planning application to expand their farm has meant the couple have had to use their own money to keep the business up and running.
In order to ensure their kids Olivia, 6 and Monty, 10, have gifts on Christmas day, the family are preparing for a budget festive season without turkey or pigs in blankets.
With 54 animals to feed, including donkeys, sheep, pigs, goats and chickens, as well as bills to pay, the family says it will be left eating sandwiches on Christmas day.
BUDGET CHRISTMAS
Neil said: "At the moment we are really struggling, we have put everything that we had into setting up the farm, but due to the delays that we have had with planning, we have been forced onto Universal Credit.
"The thing is, the community have really rallied around the farm and embraced it as their own, so we feel that we have to keep things going for them, in the hope that some day we can turn things around.
"Because we were initially told that our planning application would take just eight weeks, we were given assurances that we could invest in the farm, and then once we did, the application was delayed indefinitely, putting us where we are at the moment.
"I just hope that we can get this sorted soon, so that we can get the Nunny's Farm properly up and running."
Jo said that while they have made sure that their kids have presents this Christmas, she and Neil will be going without anything, as they do not have the funds.
The family has been claiming Universal Credit since June.
What to do if you have problems claiming Universal Credit
IF you're experiencing trouble applying for your Universal Credit, or the payments just don't cover costs, here are your options:
Apply for an advance - Claimants are able to get some cash within five days rather than waiting weeks for their first payment. But it's a loan which means the repayments will be automatically deducted from your future Universal Credit pay out.
Alternative Payment Arrangements- If you're falling behind on rent, you or your landlord may be able to apply for an APA which will get your payment sent directly to your landlord. You might also be able to change your payments to get them more frequently, or you can split the payments if you're part of a couple.
Budgeting Advance - You may be able to get help from the government to help with emergency household costs of up to £348 if you're single, £464 if you're part of a couple or £812 if you have children. These are only in cases like your cooker breaking down or for help getting a job. You'll have to repay the advance through your regular Universal Credit payments. You'll still have to repay the loan, even if you stop claiming for Universal Credit.
Cut your Council Tax - You might be able to get a discount on your Council Tax or be entitled to Discretionary Housing Payments if your payments aren't enough to cover your rent.
Foodbanks - If you're really hard up and struggling to buy food and toiletries, you can find your local foodbank who will provide you with help for free. You can find your nearest one on the
Jo said: "Now we know what it is like to live on nothing, we have got used to going without.
"We have sold everything that we can possibly sell to keep ourselves going, but we just don't know how long we can last like this.
"At the minute, it looks like we will just be having sandwiches this Christmas, because we can't afford anything else after making sure that our kids have presents and are well cared for."
This comes as another young family were forced into debt and had to rely on handouts after having a five-week wait to receive Universal Credit.
A spokesperson for North East Lincolnshire Council said: "We are in contact with Centre4 and have met a number of times to explain that we need to make up for the loss of the sports pitch.
"We have explained this position several times and what we’re doing to try and resolve it.
"The Council is supportive of the farm, and as landlord would be agreeable to the proposal.
"However, any sub-lease or change of use is subject to the necessary permissions and whilst we are doing our utmost to resolve the situation, there is a process to follow when someone wants to change the use of a sports field.
"We are working with Sport England to try to resolve this to allow their objection to the plans to be lifted."
The Sun wants to Make Universal Credit Work
UNIVERSAL Credit replaces six benefits with a single monthly payment.
One million people are already receiving it and by the time the system is fully rolled out in 2023, nearly 7 million will be on it.
But there are big problems with the flagship new system - it takes 5 weeks to get the first payment and it could leave some families worse off by thousands of pounds a year.
And while working families can claim back up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs, they must find the money to pay for childcare upfront - we’ve heard of families waiting up to 6 months for the money.
Working parents across the country told us they’ve been unable to take on more hours - or have even turned down better paid jobs or more hours because of the amount they get their benefits cut.
It’s time to Make Universal Credit work. We want the government to:
- Get paid faster: The Government must slash the time Brits wait for their first Universal Credit payments from five to two weeks, helping stop 7 million from being pushed into debt.
- Keep more of what you earn: The work allowance should be increased and the taper rate should be slashed from from 63p to 50p, helping at least 4 million families.
- Don’t get punished for having a family: Parents should get the 85 per cent of the money they can claim for childcare upfront instead of being paid in arrears.
Together, these changes will help Make Universal Credit Work.
Join our or email [email protected] to share your story.
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Universal Credit claimants could have Christmas benefits slashed if bosses pay wages early this month.
Meanwhile, a five-week wait for Universal credit payouts has pushed a young family into debt and forced them to rely on handouts.
And with changes coming into force in 2020 around how Universal Credit works - find out how they will affect your payments.