Guarantee our Essentials

Back in February 2023 Trussel launched the Guarantee Our Essentials campaign, which calls on the UK government to make sure that the basic rate of Universal Credit at least cover’s life’s essentials, and that support can never be pulled below that level.

To get the Essentials Guarantee implemented, they not only need to influence politicians across all parties, but they need to build the general public’s understanding of how inadequate our social security system is and to build a consensus around the principle that Universal Credit should protect us from going without the essentials.

Are you concerned about the levels of hardship in your community? Do you agree that our social security system needs an update so it protects people from going without the essentials?  

We live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and yet people here in the UK are going without the essentials we all need to get by.

Everyone’s circumstances can change. Losing your job, needing to care for a sick family member, breaking up with your partner – these are things that can happen to any of us.

That’s why Universal Credit should offer support to anyone who needs it, but right now it’s not providing enough income to cover the cost of life’s essentials, such as food and bills, with around five in six of low-income households receiving Universal Credit going without.

The basic rate of Universal Credit should at least cover these core costs. But it is not currently set according to any objective assessment of the price of essentials and from April 2024 it will only be £92 a week for a single adult. Often people receive even less as they face deductions from their support which are automatically taken at unaffordable rates, for example to pay off debts to the government. Over half the people at food banks are facing these kinds of reductions at the very moment when they most need help. How can it be right that the very system which was created to support us when we face challenging times is pushing people deeper into hardship?

We can’t always deal with what life throws at us on our own, so we need to have a system that supports us all to afford the essentials while we recover from setbacks. The UK government must make sure the basic rate of Universal Credit at least covers the essentials, and that deductions can never pull support below that level.

Our research shows that we must increase the basic rate of Universal Credit to at least £120 a week to address the significant gap that now exists between the level of support people receive and their living costs.

Join us in calling on the UK government to guarantee our essentials.