Vernon Coaker MP

Working hard for you

10,000 children in Northern Ireland affected by unfair tax credit changes

February 13, 2012.

Over 10,000 children in Northern Ireland will be affected by unfair changes to tax credit, with almost 5,000 of the lowest-income households losing up to £4,000 a year from this April. Labour has discovered that a little-noticed change to tax credit rules means thousands of couples who work part time will lose all of their working tax credits unless they can significantly increase their working hours.

The change means that couples with children earning less than around £17,700 will need to increase the number of hours they work from a minimum of 16 to 24 hours per week or they will lose all their working tax credit of £3,870 per year.

In Northern Ireland, this means that 4, 805 households, including 10,010 children, could lose out. A recent survey by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development found that one in five organisations have cut back on the number of hours that people work as a result of the economic downturn, with just 6 per cent increasing them.

Speaking today, Labour’s Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, Vernon Coaker MP, said:

“This change will have a devastating impact on parents feeling the squeeze and struggling to juggle work and family life.

“Once again this out of touch government doesn’t seem to understand what life is like for families in Northern Ireland who are on low incomes, with parents working part-time as well as looking after their kids.

“In the current economic climate, very few people in part-time work will be able to increase their hours by up to 50 per cent. For a couple with children, losing around £4,000 a year - or £75 a week - could mean that going out to work leaves them worse off.

“This tax credits disaster is now just a few weeks away. It’s about time that Owen Paterson started being a voice for Northern Ireland in Westminster, instead of a cheerleader for the government in Northern Ireland. He should speak up for hard-working families and call on George Osborne to reverse this deeply unfair change.”

Note: Figures by constituency for Northern Ireland

Number of couples with children and children benefiting from Working Tax Credit and working between 16 and 24 hours as of December 2011