THE UK is halfway through a four year benefit freeze which is taking hundreds of pounds a year from hundreds of thousands of the poorest families.

By the time the freeze is due to be over in 2021 almost £1bn will have been lost to families who rely on the social security system to feed and clothe themselves and heat their homes.

Poverty Alliance is campaigning to have the freeze ended and has launched an online petition to put pressure of the UK Government to end the freeze now.

As part of Challenge Poverty Week the Poverty Alliance and other campaigners are urging people to sign the petition calling on the UK Government to lift the freeze.

The Treasury is expected to save more than £4bn from the freeze in total but it will cost a couple with two children £832 a year in lost increases.

Glasgow is estimated to hardest hit across the UK with £40000 lost for every working age adult in the city compared to £200 across the UK, according to research by Sheffield Hallam University.

The freeze of working age benefits will take almost £1 billion from the pockets of people living in Scotland by 2020/21. People across Scotland are affected by the freeze and by ending it we will improve both our society and the economy by putting money in people’s pockets.

Analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found the freeze will result in 470,000 more people living in poverty cross the UK by 2020/21.

It has been identified as the single biggest policy driver behind the expected rise in poverty over the next three years.

George Osborne announced the freeze when he was Chancellor in his 2015 budget.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of JRF, said: “People who are just managing at best are being hit in the pocket by the freeze on benefits and tax credits.

“It means millions of families are finding life even harder to make ends meet - whether paying for the weekly food shop, covering energy bills or finding enough money to pay the rent.”

Peter Kelly, director Poverty Alliance, said the benefits freeze served only to punish people already struggling.

He said: “The benefit freeze was driven by ideology and is neither effective in helping people into work or efficient in terms of ensuring that we are all able to achieve our potential.

“Research from Sheffield Hallam shows that 700,000 Scottish families are expected to lose on average around £450 a year as a result of the benefit freeze.

“For those families already struggling to make ends meet this is unduly punitive, and we are therefore asking that the Chancellor ends the freeze in the upcoming budget”.

The Poverty Alliance petition can be found at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/200687