A United Nations envoy has warned Rishi Sunak that a new wave of austerity cuts would fuel further poverty across Britain and could breach human rights obligations.
Olivier de Schutter, the UN rapporteur on extreme poverty, said he was “extremely troubled” by the prospect of public spending cuts – as the prime minister looks to balance the books after the disastrous mini-Budget.
Mr Sunak is believed to be mulling a 50-50 split of spending cuts and tax rises for the 17 November Budget, as he and chancellor Jeremy Hunt address a black hole of up to £50bn.
“This is the worst time to impose such cuts,” Mr de Schutter told The Guardian. “You do not impose austerity measures when the whole population is facing a cost of living crisis. What you do is you raise taxes on the rich, you raise taxes on corporations.”
The UN poverty envoy said he wanted to agree a visit to the UK to see the impact of economic conditions “given the context that we are facing now, the very high rate of poverty and the austerity that is kicking back”.
Warning that measures pushing people into extreme poverty would break obligations, he said “There is a clear requirement in human rights law that you do not adopt retrogressive measures.”
Mr de Schutter: “Not aligning social benefits or minimum wages with increased costs of living is a retrogressive measure so the government would be violating its international human rights obligations if it were to cut down on social benefits [in real terms], and that is what we may see happening.”
It Mr Sunak were to uprate benefits in line with earnings – rather than inflation as previously promised – it would push 200,000 more children into poverty, according to the Child Poverty Action Group. The Legatum Institute said such real-terms cuts would push 450,000 people into poverty in 2023-24.
It comes as more than 60 charities write to the new prime minister demanding more support for millions of UK households in fuel poverty. A survey for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition suggests 76 per cent of people think the government is still not doing enough.
Mr Sunak and Mr Hunt are considering further energy bill support in April “in line” with this winter’s payments, according to ITV News. That £15bn package was included £400 direct payments for every household and £650 for those on benefits, but it is not clear if the universal scheme for all households will continue.
Union leaders have warned of a return to austerity, amid reports that Whitehall departments outside the NHS will be asked to find cuts of up to 15 per cent. Mr Hunt has denied claims of “new wave of austerity”, but said he had to make decisions of “eye-watering” difficulty.
Mr De Schutter said Mr Sunak’s government should consider an alternative to austerity for something “more progressive” – including increasing taxes on the wealthiest households and on corporations. “That pathway is what international human rights require from the UK.”
Mr Sunak is said to be considering extending the windfall tax on oil and gas giants in a bid to generate an additional £40bn for Treasury over five years.
Mr Sunak and Mr Hunt want to increase the rate of the levy from 25 per cent to 30 per cent, extend the collection period to 2028 and expand the scheme to cover the big electricity generators, according to The Times.
Meanwhile, defence secretary Ben Wallace suggested he would accept something lower than the previous government promise to spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence by the end of the decade.
He told MPs on Wednesday that the pledge was only an “aspiration”, and denied he had threatened to quit if he failed to get a commitment from the chancellor to boost defence spending in line with the end-of-decade commitment.
