The Department for Work and Pensions faces heavy criticism over what families claim is a “meaningless” Christmas bonus. Amid the cost of living crunch, households assert that even with this bonus, they still share bathwater to ensure they get by.
Speaking with INews, Stephen Farrell, a North West father of two disabled children, aged 43, shared his family’s struggle: “We are already preparing for the worst. We are cutting back now to prepare for what could be coming.”
Highlighting the disparity between inflation and benefits, he added: “Nothing raises in line with inflation. Inflation has been astronomical, and benefits are the last thing to rise in line with inflation.”
In a grim return to past times, Mr. Farrell revealed: “As awful as it is, we’ve gone back to sharing bathwater once one person has finished with the bathwater, someone else can get in it. I remember doing that in the 80s with my cousins as a kid. It’s not something I ever thought I would be doing again as an adult.”
Reflecting on the insignificant rise due to the festive period stipend, he remarked: “I must say, the first time we got the bonus we thought it was a typing error [because it was so low]. One month our payment suddenly increased by £10, and only when we got the note about it did we know it was a Christmas bonus.”, reports Birmingham Live.
“In the 70s, £10 was worth a lot. But what is £10 these days, it barely covers a day’s worth of energy? ” The Christmas bonus figure has remained at £10 since its inception in 1972, prompting the launch of an online petition seeking an inflation-adjusted increase. The campaign has already garnered support from more than 17,000 signatories.
Were the bonus to match the inflation over those 52 years, individuals would see the payment jump to £114.75. One campaigner highlighted the issue, “The £10 Christmas bonus was introduced I think at the beginning of the 1970s, obviously £10 was meaningful then, but what’s happened is every time they’ve changed things with the pensions, they’ve left other things,” and added, “It’s just sat there as an anachronism, really. I basically don’t take it into account at all because it’s been meaningless for decades.”
In response to these concerns, a Government spokesperson asserted: “We will do everything in our power to protect billpayers, including by reforming the regulator to make it a strong consumer champion, working to make standing charges fairer, and rolling out a proper Warm Homes Plan to save families money.”
Moreover, they highlighted current assistance programs. They said: “We will also support households with their energy bills through the £150 Warm Home Discount expected to support three million households.
“Over a million pensioners will continue to receive the winter fuel payments, and we encourage all pensioners to check their eligibility for pension credit.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions commented: “We are taking immediate action to turn around the dire inheritance we face with more people living in poverty now than 14 years ago. This includes extending the Household Support Fund for the most vulnerable, kickstarting work to develop a strategy to reduce child poverty, and taking the first steps towards delivering a genuine living wage for working people.”
