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LOW-PAID mums are being unfairly hit by changes to child benefit, Unison reveals today.
Changes made by the government since 2010 have hit hard-pressed families and their pockets, according to the union’s report.
The freeze to child benefit, which historically has been paid to women as the principal carer, means a family with two children has lost more than a total of £2,000 since 2011.
Unison is urging the government to enhance child benefit in next week’s spring statement.
Assistant general secretary Christina McAnea said that it cannot be ignored that child benefit has been cut while child poverty numbers, household debt and the use of foodbanks have all increased.
She said: “Child benefit is predominantly paid to women and the changes have had a significant impact on families, especially those on low pay, which is simply unfair and unjustifiable.
“In the Spring Statement next Wednesday, the Chancellor Philip Hammond should announce an above-inflation increase in child benefit as a first step to restoring its real value.”
