28
March
2013
Britain's poorest people face a nightmare of increasing deprivation as coalition cuts bite even deeper this year, Trade Unions and charities reported today.
Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) reported today that its bureaux are referring more starving families to food banks than ever before. And the charity warned numbers will rise further as welfare cuts suck £2.7bn out of the Scottish economy next month. CAS estimates that under the reforms 100,000 people will lose their right to sickness benefit and more than 50,000 disabled people will face losing payments.
In the north of England TUC sources warned that the region's most vulnerable people are being driven into deeper poverty. A north-east region representative for the union body said: "The only growth sector here is food banks and soup kitchens. Yorkshire TUC regional secretary Bill Adams said: "All across Yorkshire and Humberside people are worried sick about next month's welfare changes and how they'll cope. Our region is taking a battering from this coalition's damaging austerity measures while the richest earners in society, including the bankers who caused this crisis, are queuing up for their tax cuts from George Osborne. If the government's aim was to make the poorest people and the poorest regions even poorer, then they are succeeding."
In the north-west, which suffers some of Britain's worst levels of unemployment, TUC regional secretary Lynn Collins said: "This region has suffered more than most, but the stark reality is that the worst is yet to come. We have only had only 20 per cent so far of the cuts planned by the coalition government. The cuts to welfare on April 6 will make the poor pay for the mess the banks have created."
North East TUC regional secretary Kevin Rowan said: "The impending cuts, on top of already severe reductions in welfare payments, will drive the most vulnerable people into even deeper poverty.
The government is to axe a further £18 billion from Britain's overall welfare budget from April 6.
