Single mum forced into prostitution to make £30 after waiting EIGHT weeks for Universal Credit
A SINGLE mum turned to prostitution after she was told she would have to wait eight weeks for her first Universal Credit payment .
Julie, from Merseyside, took £30 for sex to keep food on the table after going on to the controversial new benefits system.
She told : “I didn’t go out looking for it, I said no at first … it wasn’t until about three weeks later that I said ‘OK, yeah,’ because I thought I need to, because I need money.
“It’s something I never ever thought I would be ever capable of doing.
“I’m very disappointed and ashamed of myself.”
MPs warned the Government just last month that women were being forced into prostitution to try and make ends meet while waiting for Universal Credit – but ministers have said no one will be worse off on the new system.
Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey sparked fury when she told MP Frank Field that those who are facing hardship should consider “other jobs on offer”.
Mr Field said later: “[Women turning to sex work is] an absolute indictment of welfare reform… it seems that you couldn’t get a worse result.”
And Angela Murphy from the Tomorrow’s Women Wirral charity said Julie wasn’t alone in being forced to sex work.
“People think its as a quick fix: ‘I’ll go out, do a bit of sex work. But then they get trapped.”
The new benefits system is pushing Brits into debt and causing financial hardship for thousands as they have to wait five weeks for their first payment.
A raft of changes to the Universal Credit programme will mean Brits can earn more money before getting their benefits slashed and will have to wait only three weeks for some payments – but those changes won’t come into play for months.
The new system rolls six payments into one.
Yesterday a mum was shocked after she was paid just £6 on Universal Credit and was handed a leaflet on how to budget.
Amber Rudd takes up the role of DWP boss today when she addresses MPs in the Commons – after Esther McVey quit over Brexit last week.
The former Cabinet minister admitted there were problems in the system but has vowed to “fix them” as the system can transform lives.
A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions said: “No one has to face hardship on Universal Credit, and 100% advances are available from day one of a claim.”
The Government was “committed to tackling the harm and exploitation that can be associated with prostitution,” they said.
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