Council notes:
- That removing the two-child benefit cap would lift around 250,000 children out of poverty, according to the Child Poverty Action Group;
- That 43% of children in Mitcham & Morden live in relative poverty – a figure that has hardly changed for about a decade;
- The announcement by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions regarding changes to the arrangements for Personal Independence Payments and universal credit.
Council believes that some of these changes will severely impact the lives of Merton residents, particularly:
- Making it more difficult for people to qualify for Personal Independence Payment (PIP);
- Freezing incapacity benefits under universal credit for existing claimants until 2029/30;
- Reducing incapacity benefits under universal credit for new claimants from 2026/2027 to £50 a week;
- Preventing those under 22 from claiming the incapacity benefit top-up to universal credit.
Council therefore requests that Cabinet consider:
- Asking the Leader of the Council to write to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, urging her to reconsider these changes and to create a fairer, more compassionate solution that provides security and dignity for all who rely on it;
- Asking the Leader of the Council to write to Merton’s MPs, urging them to oppose changes to the welfare system which enslave people to poverty;
- Developing a ‘Benefits Boost Strategy’ to maximise benefits uptake using existing Council resources, including (but not limited to):
- A front-page promotion in IN Merton, the Council’s quarterly magazine;
- Notices in newsletters distributed through school and care homes;
- Utilising Council-owned advertising spaces and social media accounts.