On April 1, the largest ever welfare cuts came into force in Britain. As a result, millions who already live on the breadline are to be driven further into destitution.
For the next three years, most welfare benefits will be limited to just a 1 percent rise a year—well below the expected inflation rate and equivalent to a 4 percent cut in real terms. Other benefits have been frozen including Child Benefit and the Working Tax Credit available to low-paid workers. Over nine million families will lose an average of £165 a year.
The cuts include a new “bedroom” tax on local council and housing association tenants, who receive Housing Benefit to help with their rents. Those deemed to have a “spare” bedroom will lose 14 percent of their benefit and those with two bedrooms 25 percent. As many as 660,000 people—a third of the total—will lose an average of £14 a week, or be forced out their homes.
Responsibility for administering Council Tax benefit, payable to those having difficulties with paying the tax levied by councils for local services, is being transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions to local authorities this month. It is accompanied by a 10 percent cut in funding on top of the 25 percent cut in real terms that councils have suffered in the last two years. It is estimated that over half of the nearly six million families receiving this benefit be will worse off.
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