Labour's reforms to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will see 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, plunged into relative poverty, according to the Government's own figures.
A DWP report into the impact of benefit cuts, including to Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP), comes shortly after Chancellor Rachel Reeves's Spring Statement this afternoon.
The report reveals up to 3.2 million families could lose financial support as a consequence of the drastic changes to the DWP, spearheaded by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall.
Based on the reports findings, the DWP said: "In 2029/30 there will be 3.2 million families – some current recipients and some future recipients - who will financially lose as a result of this package, with an average loss of £1,720 per year compared to inflation"
Families are expected to be worse-off as the DWP reforms
GETTYAs part of the cuts, which include restricting eligibility to disability PIP benefits, the DWP found 370,000 Britons will lose support with the average loss of £4,500 annually.
It states: "We estimate there will be an additional 250,000 people (including 50,000 children) in relative poverty after housing costs in 2029/30 as a result of modelled changes to social security, compared to the baseline projections."
However, the DWP's assessment noted that this projection does not factor in the impact of the £1billion annual funding by 2029/30, announced by Reeves.
This money is being reserved to help fund measures supporting Britons getting into work "which we expect to mitigate the poverty impact", according to the Government.
How have you been impacted by the Spring Statement? Get in touch at money@gbnews.uk.
The DWP has published its impact assessment into benefit cuts
PALast week, Kendall unveiled the changes to PIP as the Government attempts to reduce spending in order keep up with the Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) targets.
Cuts to payments and the tightening of benefit eligibility has resulted in backlash from disability rights and anti-poverty charities and organisations.
Thomas Lawson, the CEO of Turn2us, said: "The Government has chosen to cut critical support from sick and disabled people to meet arbitrary fiscal rules.
"We agree that we need to get the system working; every day we hear from people who can’t afford essentials or who are scared to try work and risk losing all their support. But cuts for the most vulnerable are absolutely not the answer".
"Cuts to social security will increase hardship, not employment. The cuts won’t magically move anyone into work; they will deepen poverty, further damage trust in the system and make health conditions worse.
"We are deeply concerned about the mental health impact that these announcements are already having on the people reaching out to us.
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Liz Kendall is under fire for her DWP reforms PA "The Government should be focusing on providing genuine support into employment for people who can work. We urge them to listen to claimants and build a compassionate system that we can all trust to support us when we need it."
Rachel Taylor, government and health industries leader at PwC, said: "A bold commitment to defence demonstrates what ambition can look like when you want to unlock growth.
"The Chancellor was transparent that increased defence spending is as much about economic security as well as national security, with knock-on benefits to jobs and skills, including through MoD spend allocated to new technology.
"Today is a good precursor to the industrial strategy and what levers the Government needs to pull alongside business to impact UK growth."
