Charities express child poverty fear over Osborne welfare freeze

By The Press Association4th December 2014News EnglandChild Poverty, News England, Welfare Reform

Charities expressed concern that the Chancellor has decided to freeze Universal Credit work allowances as part of a raft of welfare announcements.

George Osborne said the allowance will be maintained at its current rate for a year from April 17 in addition to the three years already announced, to offset increased childcare support for those on the benefit.

In addition, if a claimant leaves Universal Credit and returns within six months, they will be able to keep their existing assessment period.

Barnardo’s chief executive Javed Khan said: “Barnardo’s is deeply concerned that Government plans to further freeze working benefits leave poor children out in the cold. Struggling families are already telling us they are having to choose between heating and eating, as cuts have left them unable to pay electricity bills.

“The harsh reality is that the downturn isn’t yet over for thousands of parents. For the 3.7 million poor children living in households that struggle daily with income cuts and soaring living costs, the welfare system is a vital safety net protecting themselves and their families from destitution.”

Julia Unwin, chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “The Chancellor’s claims about the health of the jobs market ignored the harsh reality that the nature of work is now more precarious, low-paid and insecure. Despite record high employment, people are left struggling to make ends meet and unable to escape poverty through work.

“Efforts to hold down the welfare budget will fail unless the Government tackles its underlying causes. The raid on the Universal Credit budget by freezing the Work Allowance is a backwards step in making work pay.

“Raising the personal tax allowance is an expensive way of helping the working poor – most of the additional money will actually go to better off families, while poorer families only keep a third of the tax cut. Raising the Work Allowance would have been a much more effective way of making work pay for those in poverty.”