ONE in six working-age families in York are set to lose out if the Government increases benefits at the same rate as wages, new research shows.
Later this month, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is to set out a plan to fund the tax cuts announced in the September mini-budget.
It will include a decision on whether benefits will be increased by the same rate as wages – which at the current rate of 5.4 per cent would amount to a real-terms cut – or prices, which soared almost 10 per cent in the year to August.
Analysis by the York-based charity The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) shows that an estimated 16 per cent of working-age families receiving means-tested support in York Central, 8,643 households, will be impacted if benefits were only to rise in line with wages.
The planned increase would also apply to child benefits, which are claimed on behalf of 13,505 children in the York area.
Katie Schmuecker, principal policy advisor for the JRF, said: “We know millions of families have already gone without the essentials this year, missing meals, not cooking hot food or having hot showers.
"It is unconscionable that the Government should be considering cutting their ability to pay for what they need."
Across the UK, there are 193 Conservative constituencies where a fifth or more of families are set to lose out if benefits only rise by wages.
York Central MP, Rachael Maskell, said: "Pensions and Universal Credit and legacy benefits are meant to rise in line with inflation in September each year. It is now vital that the pension triple lock is maintained, rather than scrapped again, as the Tories broke their commitment to pensioners last year and must never do this again.
"Those receiving social security really need help at this time - and even with the Government’s energy support package, families on benefits, the elderly and disabled people are likely to pay significantly more to keep warm this winter.
“It is important that our safety net keeps pace through this cost-of-living scandal. People must get help and their benefits must rise in line with CPI and previous cuts should be taken into account."
The JRF said politicians need to "think long and hard" about withholding money from constituents, saying that the basic rate of benefits is at a historic low in real terms.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions said the Government are committed to looking after the most vulnerable.
They said: "This is why we’ve delivered at least £1,200 of support to families this winter, while also saving households an average of £1,000 a year through our Energy Price Guarantee.
"This support is on top of the annual working-age benefits bill, which is over £87 billion.”
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