ONE in seven working-age families in Tynedale are set to lose out if the Government increases benefits at the same rate as wages, rather than inflation, new analysis shows.

On October 31, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will deliver his full medium-term fiscal plan along with updated economic forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

It will include a decision on whether benefits will be increased by the same rate as wages – which at the current rate of 5.4 per cent would amount to a real-terms cut – or prices, which soared almost 10 per cent in the year to August.

New analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation charity reveals that an estimated 14 per cent of working-age families receiving means-tested support in Hexham – 4,183 households – will be impacted if benefits were only to rise in line with wages.

The planned increase would also apply to child benefits, which are claimed on behalf of 9,220 children in the area.

JRF says politicians need to "think long and hard" about withholding money from their constituents, saying that the basic rate of benefits is at a historic low in real terms.

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Katie Schmuecker, principal policy advisor for the charity, said: “We know millions of families have already gone without the essentials this year, missing meals, not cooking hot food or having hot showers.

"We know people have gone into arrears on their bills or taking on debt to pay for the basics.

"It is unconscionable that the Government should be considering cutting their ability to pay for what they need," she added.

A spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions said: “The Secretary of State commences her statutory annual review of benefits and State Pensions from late October using the most recent prices and earnings indices available.

“We are committed to looking after the most vulnerable which is why we’ve delivered at least £1,200 of support to families this winter, while also saving households an average of £1,000 a year through our Energy Price Guarantee.

"This support is on top of the annual working-age benefits bill, which is over £87 billion.”