A disappearing safety net: post Covid-19 crisis and its impact on poverty and disadvantage in Stoke on Trent - Report to Stoke Hardship Commission

The report analyses the employment and welfare system in Stoke -on -Trent arguing that the Stoke economy had been badly hit by the 2008 crisis with large numbers of people reliant on in and out of work benefits. So, even before the current crisis, Stoke-on-Trent was experiencing major structural economic problems, exacerbated by austerity and cuts to welfare and social expenditure, giving rise to extensive poverty and deprivation. The Covid 19 crisis has produced a rapid increase in unemployment, significant reductions in household income and large numbers vulnerable to impoverishment and destitution reflected in the rise in the use of foodbanks. The Government Rescue packages are insufficient to guarantee a safety net for those who will have to rely on benefits and other forms of social protection – The basic rate of universal credit is worth around a sixth of average weekly pay (17 per cent). Furthermore, low paid and insecure work is a dominant feature of the local labour market. The report argues for a more pro-active and inclusive approach to employment policy which should include job and training guarantees for unemployed people and job rotation and skills investment for workers to promote growth and productivity.