Support for children likely to go in first Lib-Con cuts

The Lib-Con government will start cutting spending in 2010-11. This could include cuts to Child Tax Credits and the Child Trust Fund.

The Liberal Democrats have agreed to cut £6 billion in 2010-11 as part of the compromise agreement with the Conservatives. This is likely to include cuts to Child Tax Credits and the Child Trust Fund.

The Guardian reports today that:

“the Lib Dems accepted that spending cuts will start this year as part of an accelerated deficit reduction plan.”

In February, Philip Hammond told Channel 4 News:

“We have been very clear about this. In addition to cuts in child trust funds and child tax credits we will cut the government advertising budget.

“So for 2010, it is absolutely right to add savings from the reduction in the advertising budget to the savings in trust funds and tax credits”.

“We can save £1bn-£1.5bn from those three measures.”

Although the Liberal Democrats were previously opposed to cuts in 2010-11, their manifesto set out that they would make savings by “restricting tax credits” and “ending government payment in Child Trust Funds”. The Conservative party manifesto outlined that the party would “stop paying tax credits to better-off families with incomes over £50,000” and “cut government contributions to Child trust funds for all but the poorest third of families and families with disabled children”.

During the election Labour contended that a Conservative government would, in fact, have to cut child tax credits for those earning over £31,000 in order to make up the numbers.

UPDATE 14.47:

The coalition negotiations agreement confirms that, “The parties agree that reductions can be made to the Child Trust Fund and tax credits for higher earners.”

27 Responses to “Support for children likely to go in first Lib-Con cuts”

  1. Anon E Mouse

    norbert – An awful lot of child protection social workers I know are Lib-Dems or Tory. Most consider they have been let down by the systems they have to work in. There needs to be some punishment in this country for wrongdoers and then things might change.

    What currently happens in this country is that poor peoples children are taken off them to be given to richer people and Labour accelerated that bad idea big time I’m afraid.

    Neither colour of government has a good record where social services are concerned I have to say.

    I’m no great fan of either of those Milibands and wish people had actually done a real job before entering Parliament but if it can’t be Johnson or Straw or Reid or people of that ilk then David is OK I suppose.

  2. norbert

    @anon

    what about ed balls? miliband is no labourite, a lib-dem at best. why not return to real labour values? what about re-instating clause 4? without it there’s no reason for the existence of the labour party. blairism was a failed experiment that only worked when they were winning elections

Comments are closed.