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Methodist Church
UK News

Churches claim benefit changes making "poor people even poorer"

A new report, published by the Baptist Union, Church Action on Poverty, the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church, Quakers in Britain, the Scottish Episcopal Church and the United Reformed Church says the legislation marks a dangerous shift away from a core principle of the Welfare State and will make poor people even poorer.

The main concern relates to the idea that the benefit cuts could result in families not having enough financial support to meet their basic needs.

The churches commissioned a YouGov survey on the issue which found 61% of UK adults believe that welfare benefits should be set at a level that allows families with children to cover their basic costs. In contrast, 25% of those polled said they thought that benefits should be set deliberately low to encourage families to find work or get more work.

Public Issues Policy Adviser for the Methodist Church and author of the report, Paul Morrison, said: "No child should be left without enough in order to motivate their parents.

"If children live in a family which doesn't have enough money they are more likely to die young, do worse at school, and experience worse health.

"Many of these families are already in work and working very hard. Any policy that claims that taking £1,000 from a family will enhance the life-chances of its children, as the Bill does, is not only supremely questionable but morally flawed."
 
The Churches are asking people to pray and to read and share the report and write to their MPs.

A DWP spokesman told Premier: "Our vital welfare reforms ensure that the system is fair both for those who need it and the taxpayers who fund it.

"We are transforming Britain into a higher wage, lower tax and lower welfare society; delivering record employment and strong pay growth, with more families up and down the country enjoying the security of a paycheque than ever before."

Listen to Premier's Hannah speaking to Paul Morrison on the News Hour.

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