100 organisations across the UK have joined together in urging the Government not to go ahead with the planned £20-a-week cut to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit.

Organisations from across various sectors, including housing, have come together to attempt to force the issue.

Using figures from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the letter says that the cuts risk “plunging 500,000 people into poverty, including 200,000 children”.

In the letter, the organisations say: “Imposing what is effectively the biggest overnight cut to the basic rate of social security since World War II will pile unnecessary financial pressure on around 5.5 million families, both in and out of work.

“At the start of the pandemic, the Chancellor rightly said that he was introducing the £20 increase to “strengthen the safety net” – a tacit admission that a decade of cuts and freezes had left it unfit to provide the support families need. We all strongly supported this crucial improvement in support.

“We are at risk of repeating the same mistakes that were made after the last economic crisis, where our country’s recovery was too often not felt by people on the lowest incomes.

“The erosion of social security support was one of the main drivers of the rise in in-work and child poverty, and contributed to a soaring need for food banks, rising debt and worsening health inequalities.”

The letter, directly addressed to Boris Johnson, says that it will hamper efforts to ‘level up’ and reminds the Prime Minister that six former DWP Secretary of State’s are against the plans.

The organisations add: “Furthermore, it is unacceptable that legacy benefits, such as Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support, continue to be excluded from this crucial improvement in support, mostly impacting people who are sick, disabled or carers.

“We are rapidly approaching a national crossroads which will reveal the true depth of the Government’s commitment to improving the lives of families on the lowest incomes.

“We all want a social security system that supports families to escape poverty rather than pulling them deeper into it. However, this cut risks causing immense, immediate, and avoidable hardship. A strong social security system is a crucial first step to building back better. We strongly urge you to make the right decision.”