Low-income Families (Hansard, 22 July 1999)

§ 16. Mr. Best
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he has put in place to help working families on low incomes. [91109]

§ 22. Mr. Healey
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he plans to increase the net income of people in low-paid work. [91116]

§ 31. Mr. Win Griffiths
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on progress with his plans to help working families on low incomes. [91128]

§ Ms Stuart
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to help working families on low incomes. [91098]

§ Mrs. Roche
In October, we are introducing the Working Families Tax Credit with the new, generous child care tax credit. It will benefit nearly 1.5 million families on low incomes, almost twice as many as under the old system, and around 3 million children. It will provide a Minimum Guaranteed Income for a family with someone in full time work of £200 a week—£80 more than they would receive on Income Support. On average, families will gain £24 per week.
Together with the National Minimum Wage, the largest ever increase in Child Benefit, and tax and NICs reform, the WFTC will help lift around 800,000 children out of poverty.
The WFTC is a central part of a programme of extra support for families being delivered by the Government: by the end of this Parliament we will be spending an extra £6 billion a year on Britain's 13.8 million children.