Budget 2016: 'Don't hide impact on poor families', George Osborne told

Christian campaigners have challenged the Chancellor not to hide how his upcoming budget will affect poorer families.

The director of Church Action on Poverty, Niall Cooper, and the general secretary of Quaker Peace and Social Witness, Helen Drewery, were among the signatories of a letter that urged the government to "provide a transparent account" of the effect of its budget tomorrow.

In last summer's emergency budget George Osborne removed the obligation to provide a "distributional analysis" which details the implications of its policies on households of all incomes.

In a letter to the Guardian Cooper and Drewery, alongside six other campaigners including chair of The Equality Trust, Sean Baine, and chief executive of Church Poverty Action Group, Alison Garnham, called this a "serious mistake".

They accused the government of hiding a "vital function".

"In order to tackle poverty, inequality, and other social ills, it is important that government publishes its most robust data to provide an accurate account of the scale of these problems," they wrote.

"This includes data on whether government policies effectively alleviate or exacerbate them.

"We therefore call on the government to reinstate its publication of a distributional analysis at the forthcoming budget, to provide a transparent account of how it will affect different households throughout the UK.

"This is matter of both clarity and good governance."

Osborne will announce his new budget on Wednesday amid gloomy economic forecasts and instability in global markets. Christian campaigners have suggested 600,000 people could be affected by upcoming cuts to disability benefits. 

related articles
Government defeated by bishop's motion on child poverty

Government defeated by bishop's motion on child poverty

Sunday trading and Sabbath: why it\'s time to resist the endless commodification of our lives
Sunday trading and Sabbath: why it's time to resist the endless commodification of our lives

Sunday trading and Sabbath: why it's time to resist the endless commodification of our lives

Christian campaigners hail 'victory' as government defeated on Sunday trading

Christian campaigners hail 'victory' as government defeated on Sunday trading

Christian charities warn 600,000 affected by changes to disability benefits

Christian charities warn 600,000 affected by changes to disability benefits

News
What we can learn from Mary of Bethany
What we can learn from Mary of Bethany

Dear reader, what would it look like for you to be a Mary of Bethany in this day and age?

Why the world needs more women like Dullari
Why the world needs more women like Dullari

In the UK, gender equality conversations often focus on pay gaps or female representation in leadership, but in Nepal the struggle is far more basic. It is whether a girl can go to school, whether a woman can seek medical care without permission from her husband, and whether she can live in her own home without fear.

Fresh drive to reach 100,000 girls with anti-trafficking programme
Fresh drive to reach 100,000 girls with anti-trafficking programme

An international charity has committed to reaching 100,000 girls worldwide who are at risk of human trafficking. 

The story of the Bible’s female leaders
The story of the Bible’s female leaders

8 March is International Women’s Day. In the Bible we can read about the roles that many women played in leadership and ministry. This is the story …