Benefits changes come into force for North East families

Over half of North East families could be up to £3000 a year worse off under new changes to Child Tax Credit.

New changes to welfare come into force today, which could leave families worse off - despite tax cuts.

If you are expecting a child, recently widowed or claiming benefits of any kind you could be left out of pocket this week.

The latest round of benefit cuts is set to be introduced this week - and campaigners say they are bad news for families, especially those in low paid jobs.

Anyone receiving state benefits of any kind, from child benefit to Jobseekers Allowance, will see their support frozen - despite the cost of living going up.

According to the Resolution Foundation think tank, 80% of tax giveaways in the next year will go to the better-off half of households.

A single parent with a baby on £17,000 will gain £80 from tax cuts but lose £610 from benefit cuts, the Resolution Foundation says.

And a couple on a combined £33,500 with three children will gain £160 from tax cuts, but lose £2,700 from benefit cuts.

Meanwhile a two-child, two-parent family on £100,000 a year will be £480 better off overall, the Resolution Foundation warns.

Dawn Gill from Darlington Citizen’s Advice Bureau is worried this will lead to more people needing their help;

“From October to April with the last lot of welfare reforms, we’ve had 11 909 legal inquiries,

"So one person might come in with three or four different inquiries,

“And we would expect to see that increase if people are having their money cut even further,

“The effects are going to be on the children more than anything else, it’s being able to feed your children and manage your money,

“Being able to put food on the table, paying for gas and electric.” The Department for Work and Pensions commented on the changes to Bereavement pay, A DWP spokesman said:

“The death of a partner or spouse is always a difficult time and can have a big impact on a household’s finances. This is why we provide Bereavement Benefits, to compensate for a sudden loss of income.

“We’re modernising the support we offer, replacing an outdated system that doesn’t reflect people’s lives today. The new Bereavement Support Payment is simpler, easier to understand, tax-free and doesn’t affect the amount received from other benefits, so families can access wider welfare support.

We reached out to the Treasury to comment on the Child Tax Credit changes but have yet to get a response.