Hundreds of children ‘could be thrown into poverty’ due to tax changes, say campaigners

MORE than 400 children could be at risk of being “thrown into poverty” in the Warwick, Kenilworth and Leamington area following changes to working tax credits, say child poverty campaigners.

Around 220 households in the area could be affected by the change in April, which will raise the amount of hours a couple have to work between them from 16 to 24 hours a week to get the benefit, said the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG).

The CPAG said if they are unable to find the extra hours of work in these times of high unemployment they will lose their whole entitlement to working tax credit, worth £3,870 a year.

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Alison Garnham, CPAG chief executive, said: “This will pull the rug from under the feet of thousands of families desperately trying to make ends meet.

“It’s shocking how many children are going to be hit by this change and inevitable that many will be thrown into poverty. “Just imagine how hard it will be on low pay, with low hours and with kids to take care of when suddenly up to £70 a week gets taken away. It’s not these families who caused the economic crisis, so why does all the austerity have to land on them?

“When the plan was announced the Government said the economy would be strong again by now.

“But employers simply don’t have the extra hours to give and unemployment is still rising.”

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This was a view echoed by Hilary Holland, manager of Warwick District Citizens Advice Bureau, who said: “Are there employers out there to take on people and give them the extra hours?

“Working tax credit was there to give people on low income a living income.

“In-work benefits are a problem for people who are in and out of work on different hours and working tax credit is an unclear benefit as in many ways it is a loan.

“It’s not until they get their P60 at the end of the year when it’s worked out what they have earned and whether any of their benefits will be clawed back.

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“If you look at a lot of the jobs out there they are low paid and part-time and £6-08 an hour minimum wage is not a liveable wage in this area.

“Money does not go so far in Warwick district as in an area such as Nuneaton.

“People have higher rents or enormous mortgages and often people get into problems through a change in circumstances, such as unemployment.”

She said benefits and debt made up more than 65 per cent of the issues brought to their attention last month and since the start of the year the CAB has had 700 more people seeking help, which highlighted 1,100 issues involving debt and 700 involving benefits.

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“I do fear for what the reform is going to mean for those on low incomes. At any time there’s a change to the benefit system it usually brings in its wake a lot of clients who are unsure about what they are going to get and there are mistakes made by government departments which makes a lot of problems for advice centres.”

• The CPAG said information issued by the Government showed the number of couples with children benefiting from working tax credits and working between 16 and 24 hours as of December by constituency was:

Warwick and Leamington - 220 households and 420 children.

Stratford, which covers areas near Warwick - 145 households and 310 children.

Kenilworth and Southam - no official figures.

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