According to the analysis, the additional £1,200 offered to the poorest in society this year will fall short of compensating for three major blows to their income from October 2021 to October 2022.
The loss of the £20-a-week benefits boost, an annual increase that is not in line with inflation forecasts, and an increase in the energy cap, it claims, will leave the poorest families unable to bridge the gap.
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown commissioned the report, which discovered that the wealthiest families would suffer the greatest losses.
This is because the government’s flat-rate payments do not account for the different sizes and needs of different households, according to the report.
According to the report, a couple with three children is losing nearly as much money from rising prices as they did from last year’s cut in the Universal Credit uplift.
According to the report, the loss for an unemployed couple with two children is nearly £1,300, or £1,600 if higher inflation for poorer households is considered.
This is based on an increase in the energy price cap of £800, and will be higher if it rises further.
According to the analysis, a 3.1 per cent annual increase in April 2022, rather than the 9 per cent increase in the Consumer Prices Index over the previous year, will add to the cost-of-living pressure.
In the paper’s introduction, Mr Brown urged the government to take “immediate action” to close the gap.
It is the next prime minister’s urgent task to ensure that families have enough to live on, through this crisis and beyond,” he said.
“I am grateful that this paper outlines the gap that the government must close as soon as possible before the next wave of rising costs overwhelms people.”
“We’ve heard from the families we’ve met and those mentioned in the report that the flat-rate payments offered by the government will not stretch far enough for families with varying needs and circumstances,” he added.
These are the people who must be prioritised by the next Prime Minister as we seek solutions.”
Professor Donald Hirsch of Loughborough University authored the report, which has 56 signatories, including charities, organisations, and faith groups.
The Food Foundation, one of the organisations that supported the report’s findings, called them “alarming.”
There is now a very serious shortfall in support for families who are most seriously in need,” said Isabel Hughes, policy engagement manager at the charity. Immediate action is required.” That is why we have repeatedly called for expanded access to free school meals for the millions of poor children who currently do not have access to this critical safety net.” Providing these children with one nutritious hot meal per day is the quickest way to avert an under-nutrition epidemic, which would otherwise jeopardise a generation’s education, health, and future productivity prospects.