The idea of a compulsory National Living Wage sounds very attractive, and will no doubt grab most of the budget headlines.
The idea of a compulsory National Living Wage sounds very attractive, and will no doubt grab most of the budget headlines. But as ever, the devil is in the detail, and there will need to be some careful calculations before we can decide just what this means for people.
It’s important to bear in mind what the Resolution Foundation pointed out recently, that the Living Wage is not “set at a level that would permit households to cope without in-work support. Its calculation is predicated on full take-up of tax credits, housing benefit and so on. If in-work support is cut then, as night follows day, the Living Wage will rise. For example, if we exclude in-work support then the level of the London Living Wage leaps from £9.15 to £11.65.”
With cuts to tax credits, and other working age benefits frozen, it is very doubtful that the Chancellor’s National Living Wage of £9 by 2020 will protect people from poverty.
It also seems to be a terrible budget for young people, and one that almost guarantees that if you start off in a poor family, you will always struggle to make a decent life for yourself. Turning maintenance grants for students from lower and middle income families into loans, on top of the fees they already have to repay, will ensure that young people start their careers with a considerable burden of debt. How will they ever save for a home or a pension? Apparently, public debt is bad, private debt is to be encouraged. In fact, it seems rather than paying off the national debt, Mr Osborne is privatising it.
If you’re in a low-income family where relationships are strained, or there is some form of abuse, you will find it very hard to escape, as Housing Benefit is made difficult to access for anyone under 21.
Third children in hardworking families are now deemed an unnecessary luxury, as Universal Credit claimants will receive support for only two children.
And, perhaps the cruellest cut – taking £30 per week off future claimants who are placed into the Work Related Activity Group of Employment Support Allowance. These are people who have undergone the rigorous Work Capability Assessment and been declared unfit to work at that time. To suggest that people are incentivised to fail the assessment by the extra £30 per week they receive in comparison to Jobseekers Allowance is insulting. Anyone who thinks this should perhaps try applying for jobs and mentioning on their application form that they are on dialysis or receiving chemotherapy, and see how many interviews they get.
* Full 2015 budget coverage and commentary from Ekklesia at: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/budget2015
———–
© Bernadette Meaden has written about political, religious and social issues for some years, and is strongly influenced by Christian Socialism, liberation theology and the Catholic Worker movement. She is an Ekklesia associate and regular contributor. You can follow her on Twitter: @BernaMeaden