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
Christian lawyers who defended nurses over single-sex changing room celebrate court win
Christian lawyers who defended nurses over single-sex changing room celebrate court win

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which supported the nurses, said, "Allowing a man into a female-only space because he claims to be a woman violates human dignity, common sense, the law of the land and  biblical truth."

UK abortion figures reach highest level on record as campaigners urge rethink of current law
UK abortion figures reach highest level on record as campaigners urge rethink of current law

The figures mark the highest annual total since the introduction of the Abortion Act in 1967.

Church of South India stages protest against anti-Christian descrimination
Church of South India stages protest against anti-Christian descrimination

India has dropped a spot on the list of worldwide persecutors, but the situation remains much the same.

Church of England ends Living in Love and Faith process
Church of England ends Living in Love and Faith process

The Church of England's House of Bishops has announced it is bringing the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process to a close.