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  George Osborne's 'stealth cuts' will force millions to miss economic recovery
  
  
  More than three million low-income families risk missing out on the economic recovery even if wages start to keep pace with inflation, according to an analysis for The Independent.
  
  The Resolution Foundation, an independent think-tank which aims to improve living standards for the less wealthy, accused George Osborne of burying a £385m "stealth cut" in the small print of last year's Autumn Statement, which will force the working poor to "run uphill" and earn an extra £1,000 a year just to stand still.
  
  The foundation has analysed the impact of the Chancellor's decision to freeze the "work allowance" - the amount people can earn before their payment under universal credit starts to be withdrawn. The freeze means that even if their wages rise in line with the cost of living, their income will fall in real terms because the allowance does not keep pace with inflation.
  
  In 2017, by when universal credit will be phased in, a couple with children who qualify would need to see their combined earnings rise by £985 to cancel out the income loss arising from this change.
  
  The foundation, which specialises in low and middle earners, warned that the cut will undermine the Government's key aim as it merges tax credits and benefits into universal credit - to "make work pay"
  
  Full story Independent.

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