Low-income families an ‘afterthought’ in pandemic response

• Covid-19 Inquiry economic response module confirms it is seeking evidence from former minister for Welfare Delivery

Low-income families and disabled people were, at most, an afterthought during the pandemic, with government’s primary intention to support higher income households who had a sudden loss of income, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) told Baroness Hallett as she chaired the second preliminary hearing of Module 9 of the Covid inquiry today. 

Families went into the pandemic with “severely inadequate” levels of social security support and a social security system which was already penalising them through policies such as the two-child limit. CPAG submitted.  At best, government failed to provide adequate support to low-income families; and at worst, caused families to even lose social security income, exacerbating the hardship they were experiencing. *

CPAG is a ‘core participant’ in Module 9 of the inquiry which is examining the former Government’s economic response to the pandemic.  The charity’s barrister Matthew Ahluwalia told the inquiry that the design of the £20 weekly uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credits, while an important economic intervention which temporarily reduced child poverty, was ‘fundamentally flawed’ in its design. **

For families in poverty before the pandemic, the government’s economic response was their main lifeline because the pre-existing social security system was inadequate to mitigate losses of income and insufficient to prevent families being pushed into deeper poverty or destitution, CPAG submitted. In addition, a large number of families had little or no personal savings available to draw on when incomes were hit,  costs for low-income families went up – and essential costs already formed a much bigger proportion of spending for families in poverty compared to higher-income households even prior to those increases. 

Because poverty is pervasive for people experiencing it, affecting all aspects of life, during the pandemic its impacts were wide – from physical and mental health and homelives during lockdowns, to children’s education when parents were unable to afford learning resources normally provided by schools. Many of the long-term economic consequences of these impacts are yet to play out, the inquiry heard.

During the hearing Counsel to the Inquiry, Mr Richard Wright KC, thanked Child Poverty Action Group, along with the group of Disabled People's Organisations who are also Core Participants in Module 9, for inviting the Inquiry to issue a rule 9 evidence request to Will Quince, the former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State with responsibility for Welfare Delivery. Mr Wright KC confirmed that, in light of these submissions and evidence received by the Inquiry, a request for evidence has now been issued to Mr Quince. Mr Ahluwalia, speaking on behalf of Child Poverty Action Group ,welcomed this news at the hearing today.

Speaking immediately after the hearing, chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group Alison Garnham said:

“The gross inadequacy of our social security system was plain to see during the pandemic – including in the two-child limit.  It led to families suffering long-lasting harms that were avoidable. 
 

“It’s right that the inquiry’s evaluation of Government's economic interventions takes full account of the state of the social security system before and during the pandemic. But struggling families can’t wait for the inquiry’s conclusion for things to change – this government must deliver on its commitment to reduce child poverty, starting with scrapping the two-child limit.”  

Notes to editors:

*This was the case for some working families who were already in receipt of benefits before the pandemic, and whose earnings dropped below the level needed to qualify for an exemption from the overall benefit cap. These families were newly benefit capped for the first time and saw their benefit income decrease despite the £20 uplift to universal credit.

**The £20 uplift was a flat-rate payment which took no account of whether there were children in recipient households – a single, childless recipient received the same amount as a couple-family with four children.

A video of the preliminary hearing proceedings is here UK Covid 19 Inquiry - Module 9 Preliminary Hearing - 10th Sep 25

CPAG media contact Jane Ahrends 07816 909302