CIOT: PBR announcement could make work pay for low-income families

CIOT: PBR announcement could make work pay for low-income families

CIOT: PBR announcement could make work pay for low-income families

The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) have welcomed the announcement in the Pre-Budget Report that free school meals will be extended to all primary school children in low-income working families.

Robin Williamson, Technical Director of LITRG, said:

“This shows the government now recognises, as LITRG has said for some time, that work often doesn’t pay for families on low incomes who lose their entitlement to free school meals when they enter work and start receiving working tax credit. This announcement will go some way to making work pay for those families.”

In a report published jointly with Community Links and Child Poverty Action Group in 2007 (http://www.litrg.org.uk/news/index.cfm?id=483), LITRG showed that free school meals can often be the deciding factor in whether someone is better off in work than on benefits. At present, in England, families in receipt of working tax credit are generally not entitled to free school meals. LITRG therefore welcome today’s announcement that free school meals will be extended to all primary school children in working families who have a household income below £16,190 by September 2011. LITRG also welcome the government’s commitment to extend the universal free school meals pilots so that there is at least one pilot in each region of England.

Robin Williamson added:

“We would urge the government to continue this roll out by extending free school meals to older children from low income working families. “

Notes to editors

The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) is an initiative of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) to give a voice to the unrepresented. Since 1998 LITRG has been working to improve the policy and processes of the tax, tax credits and associated welfare systems for the benefit of those on low incomes.

The CIOT is a charity and the leading professional body in the United Kingdom concerned solely with taxation. The CIOT’s primary purpose is to promote education and study of the administration and practice of taxation. One of the key aims is to achieve a better, more efficient, tax system for all affected by it – taxpayers, advisers and the authorities.

Contact – George Crozier on 020 7340 0569 or 07740 477374 (gcrozier@tax.org.uk) or Robin Williamson on 07876 030481 (rwilliamson@litrg.org.uk)