A report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggesting that the poorest families in Britain have been hit hardest by the Budget has been criticised by the deputy Prime Minister.
Nick Clegg said the findings published by the IFS do not include the things the government is planning to do to get “people off benefits and into work”.
He added: “If you just look at who is receiving benefits then in a sense you don’t ask the most important question of all, which is how you can relieve poverty and make Britain fairer by getting people off benefits and into work”.
The IFS analysis said: “Once all of the benefit cuts are considered, the tax and benefit changes announced in the emergency Budget are clearly regressive as, on average, they hit the poorest households more than those in the upper middle of the income distribution in cash, let alone percentage, terms”.
James Browne from the IFS also described the Budget as regressive and reiterated that the government’s fiscal plans had made life difficult for the poorest families, especially those with children.
Experts have said that the group of people who have lost the least are households of working age without children in the top section of income distribution.
