The Institute for Fiscal Studies warns that to balance the books, benefits cuts may reach up to £1,200 a year for disabled and long-term sick individuals. Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall plans to cut around £5bn in benefits, focusing on working-age welfare claimants, with fears that the annual bill for these benefits could reach £70bn by 2030. Despite the OECD downgrading the UK’s growth forecasts, the government insists that benefits cuts are not necessary, but the IFS director Paul Johnson warns of limited room for maneuver in the upcoming spring statement.
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Scrapping two-child benefit cap could lift 600,000 children out of poverty in five years, analysis finds
A recent analysis by Action for Children has revealed that scrapping the two-child benefit cap could lift 600,000 children out of poverty in the next five years, at a cost of £3.9bn per year. The charity argues that this move is the most cost-effective policy option to improve the lives of children, compared to other measures to increase parents' income. Labour is currently working on a child poverty strategy led by Liz Kendall and Bridget...
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