THOUSANDS of struggling North East families are being demonised by Government ministers seeking to look tough on welfare, the leading region’s leading charity chief has warned.

As the latest jobless figures reveal many thousands more families struggling to survive Mike Worthington, chairman of the North East’s voluntary network, has warned ministers they will never deliver real help until they change both their policies and their language.

Since the General Election last year the benefits system in the UK has come under sustained pressure for reform, with Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith saying the country suffers from institutionalised idleness.

But this approach, Mr Worthington said, is allowing the Government to take a “blame the victims” approach to those who are losing out.

Mr Worthington chair of Vonne, the umbrella body for the voluntary sector in the North East of England, is also vice president of the Community Foundation Tyne and Wear and chair of homelessness charity Tyneside Cyrenians.

He said: “The whole tenor of the discussion in our country, of ministers and the national media, is very much the language of blame.

“We regularly see the worst off described as wasters, as benefit scroungers, as idle people who are avoiding work.

“What ministers need to realise is that the majority of people living below the poverty line and in need of some of the charity services which are being cut are actually in work, they are in low paid work and the Government’s policies need to reflect that, rather than simply looking to blame people.”

Speaking at Vonne’s Annual General Meeting in Durham yesterday, Mr Worthington said charities across the region faced the risk of closure as the spending cuts continue.

He said: “We have been in bad situations before and survived, but certainly this is the worst in my lifetime.

“We couldn’t paint a much bleaker picture than this, about 25% of charities in the region are saying there is a question mark over whether or not they survive the next 12 months. Some will go to the wall.”

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “Big Society offers the voluntary sector many new opportunities to grow. Our reforms will allow the voluntary sector to bid for public service contracts worth billions of pounds.

“Recently, Big Society Capital launched with an expected £600m to give the sector access to much needed finance, which will help them expand and bid for these new contracts.”