Responding to the Spending Review announced by the Chancellor today, David Landrum, director of advocacy at the Evangelical Alliance, said: 

"We welcome the Chancellor's acknowledgement that the welfare system should be fair to those who need it. Abandoning the planned tax credit cuts demonstrates that this government recognises the litmus tests of a society is how it regards its poor and treats its most vulnerable. Today's announcement will be a relief for the millions of low income families currently struggling to manage their household budgets.

"We also support the news that, in line with the Five Year Forward View, the health service is to get upfront funding of £6billion next year.

"It is inevitable that substantially increasing spending in some areas will mean that others will lose out. The government has given no indication that it will extend the commitment it has shown in vital areas, like the NHS and policing, to social care. Adult and children's social care is facing huge demands.

"We are concerned that any further cuts will hit local authorities and the families they support hard. As always - the devil will be in the detail as the money saved today will have to be clawed back from somewhere else."