Guarantee Our Essentials campaign

We've been supporting Trussell's campaign calling on UK political parties to support an Essentials Guarantee to ensure everyone has a protected, minimum amount of support to afford the essentials.

The current standard allowance of UC for a single person aged 25 or over is just £91 per week, while under 25s receive just £72 a week. Calculations by The Trussell Trust (TT) and Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) say that this falls short by £29, and does not allow people to afford essentials such as food, clothes, toiletries, and energy costs. 

Over the summer REACH's Engagement and Advocacy team has been on the road at local events, asking people about their experiences. Their stories and comments were written on a tablecloth, and will be taken to parliament to support the charities' campaign.  

You delivered in buckets, and it will help shape our focus as we advocate for change!

Saffron Carter is our Engagement and Advocacy Lead and has been collecting your stories. She says: "Thank you to everyone that took part in this crucial campaign. We were hugely grateful for local people sharing their experiences living on the basic rate of UC. Some hard-hitting stories illustrate the hardship people face living on such a small amount. Comments like "I am struggling with bills, prices are too high and UC is not enough to survive" and "I can't afford the bare necessities". Someone else wrote "Where is the dignity?", and I think that's the most important question of all." 

This is the second major campaign to raise awareness and gather support for the project. Earlier in the year REACH supported TT and JRF in collating more than 150,000 signatures which was delivered to parliament calling for an essentials guarantee. 

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For more information on the Guarantee Our Essentials campaign, please visit Trussell's website.