Single parents to be hit hardest by welfare shake-up

12 January 2011 1 min read Neil Puffett Early Years

Single parents will be among the hardest hit through the introduction of a universal credit as part of a shake-up to the welfare system, a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has found.

The report predicts that:

Mike Brewer, deputy director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and an author of the report, said although the universal credit has the potential to simplify the complicated overlap between benefits and tax credits, the study illustrates the constraints all governments face when contemplating radical welfare reform.

He added: "Work incentives will be strengthened for some but weakened for others, and the reform will lead to both winners and losers in the long run."

Fiona Weir, chief executive of Gingerbread, said: "We already know that single parents will be worst hit by government spending cuts, and it is a bitter blow to learn that they will also be the biggest losers from universal credit.

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