Multiple Cuts for the Poorest Families: 1.75 million of the poorest families have seen their benefits cut to date due to welfare reform

Overview

For a second year in a row, benefits values have increased below prices. At the same time, council tax support and housing benefit have been cut for 1.75 million of the poorest families in the UK. This leaves affected families with even less money to pay for essentials such as food, heating and transport.

The UK government has introduced a number of changes to the benefit system in recent years. For each individual change, the government publishes an impact assessment, but it has not assessed how they overlap. This report identifies how many of the poorest families have seen their benefits cut by at least one of these changes, and how much worse off they are.