Autumn Statement Response: A missed chance for change

Published: 22 Nov 2023

In advance of the Autumn Statement, Working Families put forward policy ideas to make life easier for those with caring and parental responsibilities. While we welcome the positive steps introduced in the Autumn Statement to support to those on lower incomes, we believe this is a missed chance for change.

The increase in the National Living Wage, which is rising from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour is to be commended. We particularly welcome the Government’s decision to recognise the cost-of-living pressures on those receiving Universal Credit and legacy benefits and raise these benefits in line with the higher 6.7% rate of inflation.

Despite these positive changes, the Government could have gone much further to support working families.

The Statement doesn’t allay our concerns over the level of funding provided to childcare providers to meet parents’ funded hours entitlements. This risks limiting access to funded childcare places and increasing the cost of childcare for parents.

Statutory rates of pay for parental leave remain too low for many families to afford to take their full allocation of parental leave. Similarly, mothers claiming Universal Credit will still be worse off if they receive Maternity Allowance in comparison to those receiving Statutory Maternity Pay.

The next year will also see up to 120,000 people miss out on the support promised in the Neo-natal Care Leave and Pay Act as this won’t be implemented until spring 2025.

Working Families will continue to campaign for these reforms, and hope that they will be addressed in future budgets to improve the situation for many working families.

Speaking about the Autumn Statement, Working Families CEO Jane van Zyl stated,

Whilst raising the National Living Wage and benefits will be good news for those worried about the rising-cost of living, it is disappointing that the budget has not addressed the specific challenges that families experience around managing childcare – parental leave payments are too low for many families enjoy and the cost of childcare remains a barrier to work for too many parents.