Benefit Cuts Will Increase Child Poverty

A new report just released by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has found that benefit cuts will increase child poverty, especially in the North East and in Wales.

Absolute child poverty would increase by 4%, and three-quarters of that would be linked to the freeze to most working-age benefits and limiting of tax credits and universal credits to two children. Using forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility, combined with current benefit plans, the study shows child poverty will increase in each English region and nation of the UK.

Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions Spokesman, Stephen Lloyd MP, says

These figures from the respected IFS hammer home just how damaging this government's welfare policies will be for millions of families. It is particularly heartbreaking to learn that child poverty will increase in every single part of the country, harming the future prospects of over half a million children.

Cruel and senseless Conservative policies, such as freezing working-age benefits while prices soar and slashing funding for Universal Credit just as it rolls out across the country, will worsen inequality by harming the living standards of the most vulnerable and reducing incentives to work. And as the authors of the study point out, the impact of these policies could be far worse if our economy takes a turn for the worse.

The Liberal Democrats are the only major party committed to reversing the worst of the Conservatives' welfare reforms, including the benefits freeze, the two-child limit and the deep cuts to Universal Credit. During the last election, analysis from the IFS itself showed our welfare plans to be the most progressive.

I am therefore calling on this Government to listen to the weight of the evidence and immediately change course, using this Autumn's Budget as an opportunity to support the most vulnerable in our society.

Intergenerational inequality is increasing, the gap between rich and poor widening. Remember Make Poverty History? It's not happening. Liberal Democrat policy needs to lead the way in truly making all poverty history.