Benefits equality needed

THE imposition of a benefits cap, if my postbag is at all representative, is something which strikes a chord with large numbers of Salisbury people.

Like most of my correspondents, I am proud to live in a country which makes provision for its most vulnerable and has enshrined the principle of caring for the needy into law.

However, it is indefensible for so many individuals and families with the capacity to work to be stuck in benefit dependency and be given an income far in excess of that of many of the hardworking families whose taxes go to pay for their benefits.

The cap being proposed is £26,000 a year, a sum which, it is worth remembering, equates to a salary of £35,000, far in excess of the national average wage.

In Salisbury, it is not hard to imagine a scenario in which both parents could work full-time and not receive that amount of money.

This is not in any way a punitive measure, it is about redressing the balance to deliver fairness to the hard-pressed taxpayer as well as support to the disadvantaged.

When worklessness has become a lifestyle choice, government owes it to the country at large to incentivise people to get back on their feet.

As with so much of government, even when the principle is just, the devil is in the detail and discussions continue about how best to implement changes without having a disproportionate impact on children, who should not be forced to pay a heavy price for their parents' poor choices. I have always maintained that one area in which greater fairness needs to be achieved is in the government's proposal to remove child benefit from all households containing a higher rate taxpayer.

The move incensed many constituents who felt it directly penalised single income households, while allowing families with combined earnings of more than £80,000 not to lose a penny. The issue now will be the practical costs of measuring household income but the will is there to come up with a solution which addresses this paradox, and I, for one, would welcome it.

Back to all posts