UK PM David Cameron has outlined his intention to deal with tax credits in the hope of ending “merry-go-round” welfare support to people with jobs.

The prime minister made the comments in a speech in Runcorn just weeks before the UK treasury’s £12 billion cuts from welfare are set to hit the British public. Cameron’s “opportunity” speech said Britain needs to move from a “low-wage, high-tax, high-welfare society to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society.”

“This is what I would call a merry-go-round,” he said. “People working on the minimum wage having that money taxed by the government and then the government giving them the money back, and more, in welfare. Again, it’s dealing with the symptoms of the problem, topping up low pay rather than extending the drivers of opportunity.”

This comes as the UK treasury confirmed its plans to go ahead with the welfare reductions despite the largest anti-austerity march taking place over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Alison Garnham, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, said the impact of lower incomes for poor working families was already “stark”, with an extra 300,000 children expected to be living in poverty.

Also, Labour’s leadership candidate, Andy Burnham described the treasury’s plans as “disgraceful” and warned of his opposition to any attempt to reduce benefits for disabled people or tax credits for those on low incomes.

Cameron has previously ensured that benefits for the elderly as well as children will not be touched. Reports suggest the most likely cuts will be restrictions on tax credits and housing benefit.

SU/GHN