Cuts to benefits outlined in the Queen’s Speech yesterday could push more families and children into poverty, the network of Catholic social action charities in England and Wales, CSAN, warned on Thursday.
The Queen’s Speech included the Full Employment and Welfare Benefits Bill, which includes a freeze on working age benefits, tax credits and child benefit for two years from 2016/17, as well as plans to cut the total amount one household can claim in benefits from £26,000 to £23,000. The majority of laws proposed in the speech had been promised by the Conservative party during the general election campaign.
CSAN Chief Executive Helen O’Brien said the agency “recognises the need for deficit reduction” but added: “We call for this to be achieved without the likelihood of pushing more families and children into poverty.”
Ms O’Brien said this would mean that some 24,000 families would lose more than ten per cent of their income.
She also pointed to a “significant increase in hunger and the reliance on foodbanks” in the last few years, warning: “This problem, we fear, with further restrictions to benefits, can only increase.”
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