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Welfare Cuts Will Push 250,000 People Into Poverty, Says Government Impact Assessment

The article from PoliticsHome discusses a government impact assessment which reveals that upcoming benefit cuts, including the freezing of working-age benefits and changes to Universal Credit, are expected to push an additional 250,000 people into poverty. These measures, part of the Autumn Statement, include a £3 billion reduction in benefits, with significant cuts to Universal Credit and the removal of the work-related activity group component of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). The assessment highlights that these changes will disproportionately affect disabled people, with 140,000 of the newly impoverished being from this group. Despite these findings, the government insists that the welfare system should encourage work, and they are committed to supporting the most vulnerable through other means like the National Living Wage and increases in the personal allowance. However, critics argue that these cuts will exacerbate poverty and inequality, particularly among those least able to cope with financial hardship.

Read the Full PoliticsHome Article at:
[ https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/benefit-cuts-to-push-two-hundred-and-fifthy-thousand-into-poverty-impact-assessment ]