Anneliese Dodds, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, commenting on a report published by Citizens Advice that shows one in nine people have fallen behind on household bills during the pandemic, said:

“Even before coronavirus hit, many families in the UK were living on the breadline and this report confirms that the crisis has only made things worse. A third of all adults had no savings going into this crisis, and we now see that millions of families have been forced into debt.

“Sadly the government’s action only risks making this worse. Rather than targeting support to where it is needed most, as Labour has called for, the government is insisting on a one-size-fits-all withdrawal that will plunge us deeper into a jobs crisis and force even more people into dire financial straits. They must change course.

“Over the longer-term, the Government must look at why so many families lack financial resilience in the first place, tackling insecure jobs and poverty wages and providing a proper safety net by replacing Universal Credit.”