WRAP has had its government funding cut in successive years, reducing from £38.9 million in 2013/14 to £35 million in 2014/15, while Defra also axed the final round of its £800,000 Innovation in Waste Prevention Fund, which is coordinated by WRAP, in September (see letsrecycle.com story).
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The warning follows reports of a rift between Mr Osborne and Iain Duncan Smith because the Work and Pensions Secretary is resisting proposals to pay for reductions in envisaged cuts to tax credits by making the new universal credit less generous.
The comments of the work and pensions committee are a new slap in the face for Osborne, as the committee has a Conservative majority.
The cut to in-work benefits was set to save the Treasury £4.4bn, but since the Lords rejected the plans Mr Osborne has been forced to look elsewhere.
He said his budget update would include savings larger than were previously estimated, by addressing “avoidance, evasion and imbalances in our tax system”.
He said: “Our sensible financial management puts us in a better position than many forces now – but we are all awaiting the outcome of the Government’s spending review”.
Gordon Brown, who introduced tax credits, said Mr Osborne was betraying Britain by pushing “almost another million families into poverty”.
Ministers are expected to cut back on “day-to-day spending” through a combination of efficiency savings and closing “low-value programmes”, the BBC said.
The committee also warned Osborne not to “raid” Universal Credit to make the tax credit cuts hit people less hard.
“My advice to the chancellor would be to pause and use the next 18 months to bring forward a major overhaul to abolish tax credits as we know them”.
Prime minister David Cameron will add to these claims in a speech to the CBI today, where he will say: “By finishing the job of repairing our finances, we are able to provide economic security for working families at every stage of their lives”.
Britain’s economy has returned to growth under Mr Osborne, but his critics accuse him of crimping its recovery with spending cuts.
Indeed, in 2014, EFRA voiced concern that ongoing budget cuts to Defra would impact on the department’s ability to deliver its work, and that the prospect of further cuts was having a negative impact on staff morale within the department.
These provisional settlements apply to the day-to-day resource spending of the central departments – and are not the capital budgets of these departments.
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“The Defra Secretary of State has repeatedly said that animal health and welfare is a priority so we would urge Defra to protect animal health and welfare budgets relative to other areas of spend and ensure that short-term savings do not lead to serious adverse consequences in the longer term”.
