Thousands of Bradford families were today given a boost by Chancellor Gordon Brown's family-friendly Budget.

Organisations working with poor families across the city have welcomed the new measures as "worthwhile steps in the right direction".

Under the proposals, targeted at low income families, child benefit is set to rise next year to £15 for the first child and £10 for all subsequent children - following a 25 per cent rise this April.

And a new source of income for families, the Children's tax credit, to be introduced in April 2001 could be worth £416 a year.

Meanwhile, reforms to the benefits system mean a further boost for families on Income Support with children under 11.

Ben Taylor, secretary of the Bradford branch of the Child Poverty Action Group, told the Telegraph & Argus: "These are steps in the right direction, and they are not measly steps, they are worthwhile steps. We welcome the fact that the poorest children will gain because the Income Support rates for children under 11, which have been pitifully low, are going up.

"It will give families an extra £5 per week, which, although a relatively small increase, makes quite a difference when you are on such a modest income."

John Kirkby, director of Bradford charity Christians Against Poverty, welcomed the Budget measures but said they do not go far enough towards helping people who cannot work due to disability or circumstances.

"Anything is welcome," he said, "but my only concern is that some of the proposals, like tax credits, are only going to help people who are in work.

"A proportion of society - single parents, the disabled - are unable to work and all they will get is an extra couple of pounds of week Child Benefit.

"We help these people with food parcels - because the safety net is not there for them."

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