New analysis from Macmillan Cancer Support finds that around half a million people with cancer in the UK have taken a financial hit from the pandemic and 100,000 are struggling to pay basic living costs.
They are warning that coronavirus is exacerbating the already devastating financial impact of a cancer diagnosis on an individual’s quality of life and mental wellbeing.
Responding to this new analysis, Lucy Bannister, Policy Campaigns Manager at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said:
“A cancer diagnosis can bring huge distress to you and your loved ones; this should not be compounded by worries about being pulled into poverty. The past year of income shocks and job losses has devastated many livelihoods, eroded the financial resilience of families and put immense strain on people’s mental health.
“We all need the year ahead of us to be better than the year we have just been through, but if the £20 uplift to Universal Credit is whipped away in April or later this year, life will only become even harder for six million families who face the £1,000-a-year cut to their incomes.
“The Government must commit in the Budget to keeping the £20 uplift to Universal Credit for at least the next year and extend this support to people claiming legacy benefits, mostly sick or disabled people and carers. Anything less than a 12-month extension would fail to reflect the economic reality we face. Unemployment is expected to peak later this year then remain high for some time and we must ensure people have the certainty and support they need to rebuild their livelihoods.”
