Britain must end the ‘marriage-penalty’ and ‘poverty trap’ that stop couples on welfare living together, and that penalise them for entering the work-force, according to a new report from UK think tank, the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).

The organisation, headed by former Conservative leader, Iain Duncan Smith, said if implemented the reforms recommended in the new report, called ‘Dynamic Benefits’ would move 600,000 households over welfare and into work saving the tax-payer money but also boosting the incomes of the lowest paid by nearly £5 billion.

The report points out that under the current welfare system a couple who are both receiving welfare benefits are better off by around £25 per week if they live apart rather than marry or live together. This is anti-family and anti-children say critics.

In addition, the welfare system provides no incentive to recipients to take up low paid jobs because they are often worse off financially by taking up such jobs than by remaining on welfare. The CSJ wants to remove these disincentives so that welfare recipients will accept employment opportunities.

The Irish welfare system also contains a ‘marriage penalty’ and so-called ‘poverty traps’.