Tax Credits

Baroness Meacher Excerpts

Wednesday 4th November 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

The noble Lord may not want to hear it but I will tell him anyway:

“We will continue to reform tax credits and save the money needed so that Britain lives within its means while at the same time lessening the impact on families during the transition”.—[Official Report, Commons, 27/10/15; col 177.]

The Chancellor has said that he will set out those plans in the Autumn Statement.

[Baroness Meacher (CB)]

My Lords, does the Minister have an estimate of the number of disabled children whose families will be driven into debt as a result of the planned tax credit cuts? Will he give the House an assurance that he will put pressure on the Chancellor to mitigate these quite appalling consequences in his Autumn Statement?

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, I am not quite sure what the planned tax credits are now, which is why we will wait until the Autumn Statement. However, I can say that for disabled people we have until now protected those benefits related to the additional costs of disability and we will continue to do so.