Barnsley Central MP, Dan Jarvis, has warned 300 couples to brace themselves for unfair changes to the tax credit system which could see them lose up to £4,000 a year.

Jarvis explained, “The Labour party have been warning for eighteen months that the Tory Government's cuts were yet to really bite. For over 300 couples in Barnsley, April 6th 2012 will be the day many feared was coming.

“Tory changes will mean that couples with children in part-time work, could lose £4,000 a year, starting this April. This follows a change to tax credit rules being introduced by David Cameron and George Osborne.

“The change means that couples with children earning less than £17,700 will need to increase the number of hours they work from a minimum of 16 to 24 hours per week or they will lose all their working tax credit of £3,870 per year.

“This means that over 300 households in Barnsley and 212,000 households nationally, are set to lose out.

"I believe this is deeply unfair and proves, yet again, that the government are out of touch with parents feeling the squeeze and struggling to juggle work and family life.

“George Osborne has already raised taxes and cut spending and the result has been stagnation with the economy going into reverse, and many employers cutting people’s hours.

“At a time when redundancies are being made and hours are being cut; how does the millionaire Chancellor expect part-time couples to increase their hours by up to 50 per cent at the moment? And for a couple with children losing around £4,000 a year, or £75 a week, renders going out to work, pointless.