Tax Credits Warning

It's claimed more than half of all families in Fife could be left struggling if tax credits are cut.

Barnardo's Scotland is urging the UK government to avoid cutting the welfare budget ahead of the budget on Wednesday. 22, 000 families in the Kingdom currently use working tax credits to top up low incomes.

The charity has launched a campaign calling on the UK Government to keep the ‘lifeline’ benefit and is campaigning to halt plans to change tax credits. It says the UK Government should instead focus on tackling the low wages and high living costs that drive hardship amongst families. It is asking people in Fife to email their MP with this message - to support the campaign visit www.barnardos.org.uk
 
Head of Policy for Barnardo’s Scotland, Mark Ballard, said: “The UK Government has promised to improve support for working families so that parents do not have to choose between feeding their families and heating their homes.
 
“Unfortunately, the reality is increasing numbers of working parents are struggling to stay above the breadline, and any proposed cuts to the benefits they rely on will only make things worse. Low paid parents with dependent children rely on tax credits to make up the difference between what they earn and what they need to get by”.
 
The most recent data for Scotland shows that 55% of children in severe poverty lived in working households and 39% lived in households with at least one adult in full-time employment. 
 
Figures show that more than half of children in nine local authorities in Scotland live in families in receipt of tax credits. Nearly 50% of children in Fife are reliant on this vital benefit. Unsurprisingly the areas with the highest number of children in families in receipt of tax credits are those with higher levels of deprivation and low income. 
 
Mark Ballard adds: “Families would be better off if the UK Government focused on tackling low wages and high childcare costs, instead of cutting struggling families income.”