This policy was universally popular, with the benefits for health and work incentives recognised by politicians of all parties. It would have lifted 50,000 children above the poverty line and benefited 500,000 children and their families, according to Treasury estimates.
One of the first major speeches by the Government was delivered by the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith. He warned that some parents trying to move from benefits into work face effective 'tax' rates of 95 per cent because of benefit withdrawals and the loss of passported benefits, such as free school meals. He has promised a move to a 'dynamic benefits' system ensurng that moving into work pays, without such steep and sudden withdrawals.
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