Institute for Fiscal Studies report says families will fare much worse than childless couples as cuts bite between now and 2015

A couple with two children will be £1,250 a year worse off by 2015 as families "shoulder the burden of austerity", according to an Institute for Fiscal Studies report published on Wednesday. The study, commissioned by the Family and Parenting Institute charity (FPI), examines the impact of the package of tax and benefit reforms being introduced between January last year and April 2014, including the introduction of universal credit, which brings together benefit and tax credits.


According to the report the income of families with children will feel the most impact, falling by 4.2% in the five years to 2015. By contrast, families without children will see a loss of only 0.9%, equating to £215, underlining the degree to which spending cuts are impacting on support for children....Read more here--: Couples with children 'to be hardest hit' by coalition tax and benefit changes