THE North-East has been hit the hardest by cuts to both local councils and benefits, it was claimed yesterday (Monday, April 22)  – despite being England’s poorest region.

The ‘double whammy’ has swiped an average of £566 from every person in the North-East, almost twice the loss in the South-East (£292), Labour calculated.

And the losses have been even higher in parts of the region, including Hartlepool (£724), Middlesbrough (£696), Sunderland (£626) and Redcar and Cleveland (£592).

In parts of Surrey, the combined loses were as low as in Mole Valley (£182) and Waverley (£187), with Wokingham, in Berkshire (£189) the next lowest.

Liam Byrne MP, Labour’s work and pensions spokesman, said: “Communities facing the biggest hit to local government are also losing most from cuts to their tax credits and benefits."

Several previous studies have highlighted how local authorities in the North-East have suffered deeper cuts to their budgets than wealthier town halls in the South.

Now Labour has combined that analysis with an investigation by Sheffield academics into the impact of £19bn of welfare cuts, over the next few years.

The academics warned that: “A key effect of the welfare reforms will be to widen the gaps in prosperity between the best and worst local economies across Britain.”

Across the North-East, the average cut-per-head to benefits (£373) was almost twice that to local council budgets (£193) – making the total of £566.

In the South-East, the average loss from welfare changes was significantly lower (£232) and the hit to local authorities far smaller (£59), adding up to £292.

In Yorkshire, the total cut-per-head was £421, lower than both London (£511) and the North-West (£508).