Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people previously in receipt of tax credits will no longer receive them following changes covered in the Summer Budget 2015.

The Government is making changes to tax credits and Universal Credit which will help put welfare spending on a more sustainable path. The Government wants to move from a low wage, high tax, and high welfare society to a higher wage, lower tax, and lower welfare society. That means more emphasis on supporting hardworking families on low incomes by reducing income tax through increases in the personal allowance and increasing wages, than on topping up low wages through tax credits.

The Government is focusing the tax credit system on those who need it most. Prior to 2010, 9 out of 10 families with children were eligible for tax credits and reforms in the previous Parliament reduced this to 6 out of 10. The measures announced in Summer Budget 2015 will result in 5 out of 10 families with children being eligible for tax credits support.

HMRC publishes information on the number of families receiving tax credits. The most recent available data is for 2013/14 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-and-working-tax-credits-statistics-finalised-annual-awards-2013-to-2014.

This information can be found in Table 1.1.