The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is warning that a planned real-terms cut to benefits in April could pull 400,000 people into poverty.
The government has decided to uprate benefits by 3.1% in April, when inflation is forecast to hit 7%.
Nine million families who receive benefits due to low incomes are predicted to be £500 worse off on average due to inflation from April.
Couple families with children in receipt of benefits due to low income are also expected to experience a real-terms cut of £720 per year, while the figure across all pensioner couples is £540 per year.
JRF is calling on the Government to uprate benefits in line with the Bank of England’s February 2022 Monetary Policy Report forecast of 7% inflation by April as an immediate first step to help keep up with the rising cost of living.
However, they argue that this measure must go hand in hand with investment in the ‘overall adequacy of social security support’, especially for those who are not in work or are unable to work.
Peter Matejic, Deputy Director of Evidence and Impact at JRF, said: ‘At a time when the case for support could not be clearer, the Government is choosing to further erode the value of benefits that are already wholly inadequate.
‘People on the lowest incomes have already experienced a decade of cuts and freezes, followed by an overnight cut of £1,000 last autumn. The decision not to uprate benefits in line with inflation represents another cut for millions of people whose incomes will now fall even further behind the cost of living.
‘There can be no justification for this. Our social security system should protect people from harm, not put them in danger. The government must change course and ensure that benefit levels reflect the higher rate of inflation we are all now experiencing. There is no doubt that a failure to do so will leave more people in our society unable to meet their most basic needs.’
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