Covid Realities

We're part of a new project with the Universities of York and Birmingham, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, which aims to understand what life is like in the pandemic for low-income families. Are you (or do you work with) parents and carers on a low income?  We want to document the impact of COVID-19, and help policymakers make better decisions. 

More good legal news

In the last newsletter we told you about a case we won at the Court of Appeal that involved four single working mothers who lost out because of the way their paydays interacted with universal credit.

We've now won another case about universal credit assessment periods. A woman called Sharon Pantellerisco had a job working 16 hours a week for the 'national living wage'. This would normally mean Sharon wasn’t subject to the benefit cap, but to the universal credit computer system it looked like she wasn’t earning enough to escape the cap – just because she is paid four-weekly and universal credit is worked out monthly. Sharon was penalised even though somebody doing exactly the same work, for the same number of hours at the same rate of pay, would be exempt from the benefit cap if their employer paid them monthly. 

The Court agreed with us that this situation was irrational and unlawful. 

Find out about all our cases at cpag.org.uk/legal

Don't Zap the Zip!

Children in London have been able to travel around the capital for free, or at a discounted rate, since 2005. Now the government is insisting on suspending free bus travel for under 18s. This will be a disaster for families with children who are already struggling. It could mean that children and young people are more restricted to their local area, and less able to travel to school, college, work and healthcare appointments.

We’re campaigning to keep transport in London free for under 18s. If you live in London or just outside please write to your MP.

Coronavirus - Mind the Gaps

We continue to publish regular briefings from our Early Warning System on the problems advisers are seeing in the social security system at this time. Recent briefings have covered problems for migrants and the benefit cap.

Star fundraisers 

A huge thank you to Jasmine Field for taking on 10 half marathons in 10 days for CPAG and raising over £600! Jasmine was moved by a recent article on the spike in demand for foodbanks during the pandemic and was determined to raise both awareness of child poverty and vital funds to support our work. She completed her 131-mile challenge on 19 July.

Thank you also to Stephen Burke, a longstanding supporter of ours who celebrated his 60th birthday in June and asked for donations in lieu of presents. He raised £340 for CPAG!

2021 London Marathon place up for grabs

We are pleased to share that we have a place in the 2021 London Marathon. If you fancy taking on the challenge for CPAG, please email Alice on [email protected] for details.