Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Reader-supported journalism that doesn’t just report problems, it helps solve them.
support today
Activism

Sign our petition to help us continue our holiday hunger fight

We have started a petition to end one of the significant drivers of holiday hunger: parents who are forced to pay childcare costs upfront then must wait to receive Universal Credit payments in arrears

Holiday hunger Getty

We have been shining a light on the underlying problems behind holiday hunger and the organisations tackling the issue all summer.

Now the summer is over and the kids have returned to school, we are taking our campaign to the next step – we are asking you to sign a petition to stop one of the most significant drivers of holiday hunger.

From what we’ve learned, it will take a significant increase in investment and a rethink of our food system to conquer the issue once and for all.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t make small changes to lift the burden that hard-up parents face every summer.

Sign our petition to end the wait for childcare costs to be covered by Universal Credit

We have learned that the arrears system is a significant contributing factor to holiday hunger.

At the moment, there are 44,321 people on Universal Credit with childcare entitlement, and half a million families who will be able to claim when the roll-out of the controversial benefits system is completed.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Under the current rules, up to 85 per cent of childcare costs can be claimed, with up to £646.35 for one child and £1,108.04 for two or more children per month.

But the problem is that this money is paid in arrears. For a parent on the breadline facing an increase of up to £832 in childcare costs over the summer holidays, this is a significant dent in the budget.

Catch up with The Big Issue’s holiday hunger campaign

This discrepancy sees families pushed into the red or parents forced to give up work to take care of children instead – the opposite of what Universal Credit was supposedly intended to achieve.

We think this is a scandal and a significant driver of holiday hunger. So we are asking you to support us in demanding the government change Universal Credit to stop this happening.

Sign the petition here

Image: Getty

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

READER-SUPPORTED SINCE 1991

Reader-supported journalism that doesn’t just report problems, it helps solve them.

Recommended for you

View all
How Arsenal is empowering young disabled people through football: 'It's one of the best things you can do'
Jack at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. Image: Arsenal in the Community
Football

How Arsenal is empowering young disabled people through football: 'It's one of the best things you can do'

I spent a year undercover as a far-right activist. Here's seven things I learned
UK riots: A police riot van burns at a far-right riot in Southport
Far right

I spent a year undercover as a far-right activist. Here's seven things I learned

When the world seems polarised, volunteering has a way of unifying people and rebuilding hope
Volunteering

When the world seems polarised, volunteering has a way of unifying people and rebuilding hope

Renowned photographer Misan Harriman on Black Lives Matter, Gaza and finding hope in protest
Protest

Renowned photographer Misan Harriman on Black Lives Matter, Gaza and finding hope in protest

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payments: Where to get help in 2025 now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payments: Where to get help in 2025 now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know