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
Catholic Church in Scotland supports bill to tackle demand side of prostitution
Catholic Church in Scotland supports bill to tackle demand side of prostitution

The bill proposes cracking down on demand rather than supply.

Armenian government accused of violating freedom of religion and speech after clergy arrests
Armenian government accused of violating freedom of religion and speech after clergy arrests

The Armenian government has accused clergymen of plotting violent revolution and advocating assassinations.

Lone Anglican church in Moscow suspends worship services
Lone Anglican church in Moscow suspends worship services

The only official Anglican congregation in Moscow, Russia, has suspended worship services amid a reported internal dispute over who controls the church.

New church movement seeks to overturn landmark gay marriage ruling
New church movement seeks to overturn landmark gay marriage ruling

A coalition of Christian conservative organizations and leaders has joined a new campaign seeking to mobilize churches to push for the overturning of the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.