Poverty warning from think tank

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BRITAIN’S most respected economic think tank has warned that Wales could see the biggest rise in “absolute poverty” of any UK nation or region if benefit cuts go ahead.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has sounded the alarm with a major report which also predicts an increase in child poverty in Wales.

It expects the absolute child poverty rate to climb from 28% for the 2013-15 period to 34.9% for 2019-21. There will be further concern at an expected rise in overall absolute poverty in Wales over this period from 22.5% to 23.3%.

This report comes ahead of the Autumn Budget on November 22 and will heighten anxiety about the impact of welfare changes on Wales’ most vulnerable households.

The research, supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, warns that across the UK the “freeze to most working-age benefits means that around 7.5 million low income households will see their benefit entitlements cut by over £500 per year in real terms”.

It adds the “limiting of tax credits and universal credit to two children means that some low income fami- lies will receive over £2,500 less in benefits than they otherwise would have”.

Tom Waters, one of the authors of the report, warned: “If the Government sticks to planned benefit cuts, it should not be surprised if, according to the official measure, absolute child poverty rises. Every region and nation is projected to see an increase in child poverty, with the largest increases in the North East, East Midlands, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and the smallest in London, the South East, and South West.”

A UK Government spokesman said: “We are committed to supporting families while making the welfare system fair for those who pay for it and those who benefit from it. There are 200,000 fewer children living in poverty than in 2010 and we are helping families keep more of what they earn by cutting taxes and increasing the National Living Wage.”

According to the Department for Work and Pensions, the unemployment rate in Wales at 4% is the lowest on record since 1992, with private sector employment going up 77,000 since 2010.