House of Commons analysis, requested by Labour, into the latest changes to the taper rate of Universal Credit (UC) reveal many working families will still be worse off. 

The overnight announced changes in the Autumn Statement indicate that in certain scenarios working families will only see £150 returned to them from an original cut of £2,500 a year.

 The key findings are:

 ·         Following the changes to the UC taper rate, a working couple with two children, both working on the National Living Wage (NLW), could now be £800 worse off instead of around £1,100 worse off in 2017-18 as a result of cuts to UC work allowances.

 ·         Following the changes to the UC taper rate, a lone parent with two children earning £25,000 per annum might be around £2,300 worse off instead of £2,500 worse off in 2017-18 as a result of cuts to UC work allowances.

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, speaking ahead of the Autumn Statement, said:

“If this Autumn Statement is supposed to relaunch the Conservative party on the side of workers, then it has already failed. 

"Some working families, who will have lost as much as £2,500 a year, might only be getting back as little as £150 in this Statement.

"It appears that Philip Hammond not only takes with one hand, he now pretends to give back with the other.”