By ending the additional £1,000 a year boost to universal credit, new research finds that the mental and physical health of thousands will be damaged.

The Health Foundation predict that areas of the UK such as Blackpool, East London, and Wolverhampton, where people already struggle with worsened health, will be hardest hit by these cuts.

Payments will be reduced back down by £80 a month, or £20 a week, to the original amount pre- pandemic, and further support has also been ruled out by the government.

Baroness Stedman-Scott, the work and pensions minister, has revealed that there has been no assessment of the impact the scrapping of the universal credit boost will have on the public.

“The department has not completed an impact assessment of the ending of the temporary uplift, as it was introduced as a temporary measure.” The minister recalls.

“This is because we have no obligation to conduct an impact assessment as we’re returning to business as usual as the temporary Covid uplift is expiring as it was always intended to do.” She continues.

This news, as well as Boris Johnson’s plans to increase tax and national insurance contributions by 1.25%, will have a massive impact on the health of the public, especially with winter just around the corner.

Charities such as Save the Children have spoken on the subject, with director Dan Paskins saying, “this time of year is already challenging, with parents having to pay more for heating, school uniforms and winter clothes.”

The Health Foundation charity say that these additional stressors will add an extra challenge for those residing in poorer areas of the UK such as Blackpool, where over the course of one year, the average loss of benefits will be £283 per person.

According to the charity, 7 out of the 10 worst affected UK council areas have a healthy life expectancy below 60 years, and “the removal of such a vital chunk of income (will) contribute to rising mental ill health.”

Marcus Rashford, footballer and anti- poverty advocate has spoken up publicly on the issue, tweeting “we should be focusing efforts on developing a sustainable long- term roadmap out of this child hunger pandemic.”

The DWP’s latest figures show that there were 5 million households receiving universal credit as of the 8^{th of} July 2021, a staggering number of families due to be affected by the boost cut.

There has been a variation of academic studies that define a link between poor mental health and universal credit.

Research at Newcastle and Teesside universities has established that UC should be deemed a serious threat to public health, with a number of claimants saying that dealing with the system has been so stressful that they had considered suicide.

Labour MP Zarah Sultana has recognised the cut to universal credit as “an attack on the working class from the party of the super- rich,” and has debated in parliament to defend the members of her constituency affected by the cut.

When asking the public to get in touch with her regarding how the cut would have an impact on their daily lives, Sultana reported that the responses were “truly heart-breaking.”

However, the Labour MP is seemingly outnumbered, with another government spokesperson saying “as announced by the chancellor… the uplift to universal credit was always temporary.

“It was designed to help claimants through the economic shock and financial disruption of the toughest stages of the pandemic, and it has done so.”

Director of health at the Health Foundation, Jo Bibby, speaks up to say that “the pandemic is not yet over and if we are to avoid long- term scars, it is vital that we maintain this support on which so many families rely.”