FAMILIES in the North-East will be among the hardest hit by cuts to tax credits with the average claimant set to lose £1,410 a year, it has been claimed.

The TUC has warned that the poorest parts of the country will suffer most from the Government's tax credit cuts.

Its research shows that families in Yorkshire and the Humber will be the hardest hit in England with claimants set to lose an average of £1,440 per year, closely followed by the North-East at £1,410.

The regions have among the lowest average income per head of anywhere in the country so will be disproportionately hit, said the union organisation.

The TUC said that nationally more than £4.5bn will be cut from workers who receive tax credits as a result of the planned cuts.

Officials warned that regional pay inequalities will widen.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "This research makes clear that as well as making families suffer, the tax credit cuts will make regional inequalities worse. The households who will lose the most are those already in low-income areas.

"Instead of cuts that target the UK's lowest-paid communities, the Government should channel more support towards them.

"The Prime Minister and the Chancellor seem to be the last people in Britain who still think the tax credit cuts are a good idea. They don't seem to understand that people in work deserve a decent income. These cuts should be ditched altogether."

In response to the criticism, the HM Treasury said the report was already out of date as the Chancellor would be announcing new plans to "make a transition to a higher wage, lower tax and lower welfare economy" at the autumn statement.

A spokeswoman added: "Like other analyses, the examples cited here don’t seem to consider other measures the Government has introduced or is introducing to support working families, such as the free childcare that will be worth £5,000 a year per child, freezes in council tax and fuel duty throughout the last Parliament, higher public spending on the NHS and schools, or the knock-on effects which will be felt higher up the earnings scale thanks to the new National Living Wage.”