Changes to benefits for low income families have been approved by Tynwald - despite criticism they target the vulnerable.

Proposed changes to Employed Person’s Allowance and Income Support for lone parents were withdrawn at the 11th hour in January following concern over their impact. Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan told Tynwald last week that some of the changes had been ’considerably revised’.

But the move to make low income families work more hours before they can claim means-tested Employed Persons’ Allowance was criticised by Manx Labour Party member David Cretney MLC.

He questioned if there were sufficient job opportunities and sufficient affordable childcare for families to work longer hours - and claimed the Minister had ’chosen to ignore those legitimate concerns’.

Government policy seemed a little ’disjointed’, Mr Cretney said: ’It appears to be the case that the wealthy are motivated to work by financial reward so the incentive of paying significantly lower rate of income tax via the tax cap.

’But the poorest workers have to be motivated by having money taken away.’

He said the additional hours the parents would be forced to take would likely be by way of zero hours contracts, leading to difficulties of families’ weekly budgeting.

And Mr Cretney questioned the idea that all people on benefits need the threat of sanctions. ’I would argue most claimants would want to engage in paid employment,’ he said.

Sensible

Dr Alex Allinson (Ramsey) said the revised proposition was ’much better, more measured and more sensible’.

But he said he still had doubts about the ability of people to obtain those extra hours that they will need to get to obtain EPA.

Mr Cannan said Treasury had identified a number of people claiming EPA who ’it appears could reasonably be working for more hours than they do now, or whose partners could be working for more hours than they do now’.

They could therefore ’reduce or even eliminate their need for the benefit whilst at the same time increasing their household incomes and achieving better outcome for themselves, their family, society and the economy’.

Tynwald supported the change to EPA by 17 votes to three in the Keys and by eight votes to one in LegCo.

The court also unanimously approved changes to rules on income support for lone parents which reduce from 12 to six the age below the youngest in the family must be to qualify.

As a result, a number of lone parents will likely leave income support and claim job seekers’ allowance instead.