Working single parents 'worst hit by tax credits plan'

Working single parents will be worst hit if the Government presses ahead with its plans to cut tax credits, according to new research.

Gingerbread estimated that 1.3 million single parents are set to lose money.

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By 2020/21, single parent households will lose 7.6%, or £1,300, of their income a year because of a combination of tax, pay and welfare reforms, said the campaign group.

Changes which were set to take effect next April, before they were rejected by the House of Lords this week, would have left one in four single parents facing an overnight drop in income, said Gingerbread.

Chief executive Fiona Weir said: "While two in three single parents are working, our findings show those who most need support to 'make work pay', will be worst affected by cuts to tax credits and the work allowance under universal credit in particular.

"We are pleased that the House of Lords voted to delay plans that would have hit single parents hard, and we are now calling on the Chancellor to look at options to alleviate the impact, particularly on low-paid working single parents.

"Plans as they stand risk making some of the poorest in our society worse off, while also undermining the Government's goal of making work pay."