Tens of thousands in UK avoided universal credit during Covid over stigma

Fear of being seen as a scrounger" meant those entitled didn't sign on during early stage of pandemic

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Tens of thousands of people did not claim universal credit during the early part of the pandemic because they felt too ashamed to sign on benefits, often despite struggling to pay rent and bills, a study has found.

The perceived stigma around benefits - with some people feeling, for example, that they were for dole scroungers" and freeloaders" - meant many refused state help, or put off making a claim until they ran into serious difficulty.