Wolverhampton charity supporting vulnerable people say today’s UK Budget, which confirmed an increase to the National Living wage, may bring limited benefits and will not have a “significant difference” to those who need it most.
I just don’t think the increase in wage will make a significant difference to us.
Fallon Burnett, project support worker from SUIT.
The Service User Involvement Team (SUIT), is a recovery based charity that supports people battling drug and alcohol addiction alongside vulnerable individuals. They offer advice, guidance to both service users and associated vulnerable adults within local authority.
On Tuesday the 25th of November, Rachel Reeves announced ahead of the budget that minimum wage and the national living wage will rise in April next year. The national living wage will rise by 4.1%, from £12.21 to £12.71 an our for those aged 21 and over. This would then add an extra £900 a year for over two million full-time workers.
From April 1st 2026, the national minimum wage for workers aged 18-20 will increase by 8.5%, bringing it from £10 to £10.85 an hour.
With the cost of living, people are not really managing right now. People are coming to us a lot because we can refer them for food parcels and vouchers, but by the end of the week they have no food left.
Vijay Sahota, Punjabi-speaking project worker.
SUIT representative, Vijay Sahota, expresses his concerns with the repercussion of the national living wage increasing as people run the risk of shop prices rising alongside it. This then means families and service users are not managing as more people look for this support system.
Charities and service users are hoping for more work to be done to tackle the increase in the cost of living .