Mum on Universal Credit forced to let kids 'freeze' due to rising heating costs
23.02.2022 - 16:55
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
A worried mum who is already struggling to afford everyday essentials and household bills fears she won't be able to provide for her kids when costs rise.
Rebecca Jones has spoken out about her 'difficult' life on Universal Credit, with the 31-year-old often left feeling she has to "ration the electricity".
The mum-of-two, from Brighouse in Calderdale, says she found it even harder to survive when she had a full-time job, and believes the whole system is in need of a drastic overhaul.
She told Yorkshire Live : "Some months I'm OK and I manage and I get by. But other months I find it really difficult.
"One month I was unable to get bread, milk, the basic things we all take for granted. My mental health has really really struggled.
"I wait two weeks for the money to come in, and then often find there's so many things I need to get it ends up gone and I'm back to square one. It's a vicious circle.
"I don't really bother about me but I constantly worry about whether I can keep the kids alright."
Rebecca looks after her two children, aged nine and 11, as well as her niece, 14, due to her sister recently having a stroke.
She started off working 16 hours a week at the Premier Inn in August 2021, before moving to do more hours a week at a coffee shop.
However, Rebecca said that she found herself struggling increasingly while working on Universal Credit - and sometimes didn't have enough left to buy milk or bread.
Rebecca estimated that after rent she had £400 or £500 a month left when she was working for her family.
"I felt like I was getting penalised because I was working. It seemed like everything I made was taken straight off me," she said.
"I felt much better mentally and able to manage before I started working.
"I had to organise