Sunday, October 15, 2017

The icy effect of the freeze on benefits

Benefit freezes combined with the predicted rise in inflation could set some low-income households back £300 next year, The Resolution Foundation, a think tank has warned.
September's inflation data will be released on Tuesday, and some analysts predict the Consumer Price Index (CPI) will be 2.9%. Its analysis says: " Should CPI hit 2.9% on Tuesday, the freeze will save the Treasury £1.8bn next year."
Chancellor Hammond's benefit freeze, which will begin its third out of four years in 2018, will hit working families the hardest.  A single unemployed person would be £115 worse off, a single parent in work with one child would be £225 worse off, and a single earner couple with two children would be £305 worse off.
Torsten Bell, director of the Resolution Foundation, said, "With inflation approaching 3%, families are on course for the biggest real-terms cut in the value of their benefits for decades."

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