Commenting on today’s Spring Statement, Peter Bryson, head of Northern Ireland at Save the Children, said:
“The chancellor is burying his head in the sand. In today’s statement he’s refused to face up to the reality of rising prices or to step in and shield the children hardest hit.”
“For families in Northern Ireland on low incomes this crisis has become unbearable. Parents we work with tell us that there’s nothing left to cut back. They’re being forced to skip meals, turn off the heating, and take on unsustainable amounts of debt. Children are going to school hungry because food budgets are stretched so thin.”
In this week’s Spring budget statement, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a 5p cut to fuel duty, a doubling of the government’s household support fund, a £3,000 increase to the national insurance theshold, and a cut in income tax from 20% to 19%. Other measures include increases to businesses’ employment allowance, and removal of VAT on household installation of solar panels, heat pumps and insulation.
Mr Bryson said: “The measures the chancellor has announced will benefit those on middle and higher incomes most and won’t come to close to closing the gap rising prices have left in family budgets.
“A 5p cut to fuel duty coupled with an increase to the national insurance threshold translates into an additional £18.40 per month for the poorest families, in the context of a real-terms income cut of £55 a month.
“The government must do more. The best way to support the families who are struggling most is to increase social security payments to match the rate at which prices are increasing.”
