Lockdown causes sharp rise in unemployment benefit claims in High Peak

The Labour Party says more of us will soon face what it describes as ‘one of the weakest out-of-work safety nets in the developed world’, and has joined charities in urging reform to the system.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows 2,390 people were claiming out-of-work benefits in High Peak as of April 9, compared to just 1,175 a month earlier.

It means the share of the population signing on rose from two per cent to 4.2 per cent.

The average claimant rate in the East Midlands rose from 2.7 per cent to 4.6 per cent.

The statistics capture the early weeks of restrictions after Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the country into lockdown on March 23, meaning the numbers are likely to have risen again since.

The ONS figures counted those aged 16 to 64 who were on Jobseekers Allowance and some universal credit claimants, with numbers rounded to the nearest five.

Across the UK, the claimant count rocketed to 2.1 million on April 9 – a 66 per cent rise from March, although the ONS put the increase at 69 per cent if the figures were adjusted to take seasonal variations into account.

Jonathan Reynolds MP, Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary, said the rise shows the ‘severity of the crisis we are facing’.

He added: “Unfortunately these claimants will now discover the UK has one of the weakest out-of-work safety nets in the developed world.

“We support the changes the Government has made so far during the outbreak, but they do not match the scale of the crisis.”

The party has called on the Government to make five immediate changes to the benefits system, which include ending the five-week wait for Universal Credit payments and scrapping a £16,000 limit on the amount of savings claimants can have.

Sara Willcocks, from the anti-poverty charity Turn2us, said: "No matter where you live in the UK, you should be able to rely on our social security system, just as we do our NHS.

"So the Government must take this time to fix the problems with benefits, like the five-week wait for universal credit, and make them suitable for the 21st century."

A department for work and pensions spokesman said: “These are challenging times, but universal credit is providing a vital safety net to those affected by the pandemic and we’ve taken action by injecting over £6.5 billion to support people using the welfare system.”