'WE HAD CHRISTMAS AT THE FOODBANK'
Mums savage MPs over Universal Credit which ‘penalises single parents’
A SINGLE MUM on Universal Credit has told MPs the heartbreaking tale of how she was forced to go to a foodbank last Christmas.
Ex-BBC journalist, Thuto Mali, who is mum to a two-year-old boy, revealed how the new benefits system had left her so poor she had to go to a charity to beg for food.
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She was one of four mums who told MPs in Parliament today their frustrations with childcare under Universal Credit, which is being rolled out across the country in the coming months.
Thuto had to give up her dream job because it didn't pay enough for her to be able to afford sky-high nursery bills.
"Under Universal Credit it doesn't pay for me to be working," she said. "It would have left me with £2 a day. I wasn't able to take the job.
"We were at the foodbank last Christmas, that's how bad it was for us."
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And Vikki Waterman, a 34-year-old mum of two girls, said the system wasn't fair on lone parents.
"We don't want to sit at home," she told politicians on the Work and Pensions Committee. "We didn't plan to be single parents, we should not be penalised for that. We want to work and earn a living, but there's roadblocks everywhere we turn."
She was also penalised £50 by her nursery for paying late - because her Universal Credit sum hadn't come through yet.
She said if the Government could pay for childcare costs upfront it would be a huge help for other single parents like her.
Families are at risk of falling into debt because of the new reforms as they have to pay up to £1,000 upfront to secure a place for their child, and pay the first weeks of fees ahead of time.
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Once up and running half a million families will be getting childcare support through the new benefit.
Hairdresser Gaynor Rowles, from Heywood in Greater Manchester, who has three children under eight years old and receives no financial support from their father, relies on her parents and friends to help because it takes so long to get the money back under Universal Credit.
"Where do I find that money from?" she asked MPs today. "Something needs to be done. They know the kids are in nursery and how much it costs. The upfront costs would really help."
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As it takes up to six weeks to get the cash back, many mums will have to pay two months worth of costs before they get anything back.
And families on the benefits system are unlikely to have the money to pay first, meaning they can't easily get back into work.
Working parents are having to deal with the soaring costs of childcare.
In October, a report from the TUC found that costs had risen seven times faster than wages since 2008.
And Admiral Loans found some parents are spending more than half their salary on childcare - with some forking out up to £1,383 a month.
Dalia Ben-Galim, Director of Policy at charity Gingerbread, which helps single parents, told MPs: "Parents see going into work is a risk on Universal Credit.
"They need to find the money upfront to pay for childcare. These costs are high upfront, and they might not find childcare to meet their working needs... and don't know if they can get reimbursed."
What childcare help is available for working parents?
CHILDCARE can be a costly business, and mums today have said the system doesn't work for them. Here are some of the options for getting help with childcare that you could be able to get.
- Universal Credit help - If you're on the new benefit system then you may be able to claim back up to 85% of your childcare costs - up to £646 a month for one child, or £1108 for two or more. You have to be working, and so does your partner if you live together. But critics have said they don't get all of the money back, and have to wait weeks to see any repayments.
- 30 hours free childcare - Parents of 3 and 4 year olds can apply for 30 hours free childcare a week. To qualify you must work at least 16 hours a week at the national living or minimum wage and earn less than £100,000 a year.
- Tax credits - For children under 16, some working families can get up to £122.50 a week depending on their income to help with childcare costs.
- Tax-free childcare - Available to working families and the self-employed, for every £8 you put in the government will add an extra £2.
- Childcare vouchers - If your employer offers childcare vouchers you can get up to £933 a year in tax and national insurance savings.
You pay for your childcare before your tax contributions are taken out. But this is now closed to new applicants anymore, and Brits had until October to get it.
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One single mum revealed yesterday how she's in so much debt under Universal Credit she hasn't been able to buy a new school uniform for her son.
The news comes as Lib Dem boss Sir Vince Cable is set to say today that Universal Credit has been a "slow motion disaster" which risks plunging hundreds of thousands of people into poverty.
He will say in a speech today that the system is on "life support" and needs urgent reform to fix it now.
Sir Vince will declare: "The Government argues that these design features will teach people to be responsible with their finances, but instead the Government should take responsibility and end the suffering it is inflicting on society's most vulnerable."
Majority of Brits PREFER being on trouble-hit Universal Credit, Health Secretary Matt Hancock claims
Have you been put off going into work because of childcare costs on Universal Credit? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours
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