Benefit recipients are fuming as the annual Christmas bonus hasn’t seen an uplift since its introduction in 1972.
Every December, a myriad of benefit claimants receive an annual bonus from the Department for Work and Pensions. However, thousands are left disgruntled as another year passes without this sum being adjusted for inflation.
The bonus was first introduced in 1972 as a tax-free payment to help cover the additional costs of the festive season for people claiming benefits.
Typically paid in the first week of December, the Christmas bonus remains at the same £10 rate as it was in 1972.
If adjusted for inflation, £10 back then would be worth roughly £115.11 today. One proposed uplift would follow the current inflation increase, which would see the sum rise slightly to £10.22.
Now more than 19,000 benefit claimants, incensed by the stagnation of the bonus, have signed a petition urging the government to uplift this amount after half a century.
The Change.org petition was first launched last year, calling on the Conservatives to implement an initial uprating and then increase the payment annually in line with inflation.
Shona McMahon, the creator of the petition, expressed her frustration by writing: “Should we be asking: ‘Why can’t we can afford to buy someone a half decent present, or even have a proper Christmas dinner with all the trimmings? ‘… in 2023? ? This isn’t asking for ‘just another handout’. This is for those of us that don’t have an option to earn anything extra.”
The outrage has been further fuelled by the Labour Party’s contentious decision to restrict the Winter Fuel Payment. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has revised the eligibility requirements, resulting in millions potentially missing out on vital funds this season.
In response to the outcry and the petition, a DWP spokesperson told the Express: “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.”
