The latest figures have it: Mendip's march towards a larger Universal Credit uptake hasn't skipped a beat, tallying higher this year than the last.

The figures come hot on the heels of a think tank's plea to tether social security to the ebb and flow of living costs.

Universal Credit acts as a monetary knight in shining armour, coming to the aid of those unemployed, the disabled, or those whose earnings and savings barely tickle the financial bar.

The number of people on Universal Credit has continued to rise, thanks to a cocktail of fading old benefits and slim job opportunities. This happened during the pandemic's peak and has remained on that high plateau since.

According to the Department for Work and Pensions' data, March saw 8,907 people in Mendip are now claiming Universal Credit, a 5% jump from last year's 8,494.

Economist Sam Tims from the New Economics Foundation think tank says that 'inadequate support levels' and shaky employment landscapes have pinned benefit recipients between a rock and a hard place.

In March, 39% of universal credit recipients in the area were employed. Mr Tims urged for benefits to be benchmarked to the cost of living, to help those struggling with the current crisis.

Meanwhile, the Universal Credit leaderboard reached new heights in February, with almost 4.5 million households across England and Wales carrying at least one recipient. Mendip alone saw 6,783 beneficiary households.

Anti-poverty charity Turn2Us's benefits specialist, Anna Stevenson, thinks too many households are still getting the short end of the financial stick. She drives home the need for the Government to be there with the right kind of support at the right time to ride out this storm.

She continued: "The Government needs to make sure support is there when people need it, and that it's the right support to get through this crisis.

"The longer term, systemic answer, is to build an effective social security system in which people can thrive."

The area's Universal Credit uptake peaked in October 2020, with 9,629 individuals signing up. Fast forward to March, and over 30% of all regions in England and Wales – that's 112 local authorities – hit an all-time high in the number of Universal Credit recipients.