IAIN DUNCAN SMITH is demanding immediate action to offer help to people who will be hit by cuts to tax credits.
The call by the work and pensions secretary comes amid growing concern in Tory ranks that the tax credit plans will torpedo the government’s claim to stand up for the working poor.
In the first sign of cabinet tensions over the decision by the chancellor, George Osborne, to cut the handouts by £4.4bn, Duncan Smith is calling for his department, rather than HM Revenue & Customs, to break the news to those who will lose out.
The cuts are due next April in exchange for an increase in the minimum wage.
Duncan Smith believes a political crisis can be averted if those who will be hardest hit get help to find extra work in the intervening months. He has told friends that many would be able to make up the shortfall by taking on a few extra hours of work a week.
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A source said: “Iain thinks the manner in which you tell people is important. If you just send them a letter saying they’re going to be affected that’s not going to be enough.
“You’d want to point them to places where they can be helped, whether that’s universal jobmatch or the national careers service.
“In many cases just a few extra hours would make the difference . . . With the benefit cap we worked with people to explain the changes and that meant the number affected was much lower than the official forecast.”
Duncan Smith wants HMRC, which administers the tax credits regime, to hand data to his officials. He says leaving it to HMRC to send letters will upset people.
MPs will debate a Labour motion on the cuts on Wednesday. Critics claim the plans will cost the average family £1,300 a year but Osborne says nine out of 10 families will ultimately be better off because the national minimum wage will rise to £9 an hour by 2020.