Lowest-income families will be £1,350 worse off after squeeze on tax credits, figures show

The income threshold at which tax credits begin to be taken away will be cut

More than three million of the lowest-income families will be left an average of £1,350 worse off by the Government’s squeeze on tax credits (Getty)

More than three million of the lowest-income families will be left an average of £1,350 worse off by the Government’s squeeze on tax credits, new figures have disclosed.

David Cameron’s former anti-poverty tsar, Frank Field, said the figures made a mockery of the Prime Minister’s pledge during the general election campaign to stand up for hard-working “strivers”.

Under Chancellor George Osborne’s moves, the income threshold at which working tax credits begin to be taken away will be cut from £6,420 to £3,850 next April. The rate at which the payments are reduced will also be increased.

The House of Commons Library put the average loss at £1,350. Its analysis calculated that families with children with incomes of £20,000 to £30,000 would lose an average of £2,534 next year, while families with incomes of £10,000 to £20,000 would be £1,834 worse off.

Mr Field, the Labour chairman of the Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee, told The Independent: “Before, during, and after the general election campaign the Tories rightly gained plaudits for their commitment to protect and advance the interests of Britain’s strivers.

“Yet in his first post-election Budget the Chancellor has decided to knock this group for six.”