Mr Hutton acknowledged that there was deep unhappiness among Labour MPs who feared that many workers on low wages - particularly those without families - would lose out.

But he said that it was not possible to go back on the change announced by Gordon Brown last year in his final Budget as Chancellor.

"I really don't think it is possible to do that. We have made the decisions now on the Budget. This package of measures was voted on and debated last year," he told BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show.

He said that the tax change had been part of a "balanced package" which cut the main rate of income tax by 2p to 20p, and which left families with children "significantly better off".

For those who did lose out, the scale of the losses was relatively small, he said.

"We are talking in the worst case scenario about half a per cent of net income being the scale of the maximum loss that someone might have," he said.

Overall, he said that those on low incomes had gained over the decade that Labour had been in power. He added that it was now up to ministers to argue the case for the changes that had been made.

"There are concerns about this. They have been raised with ministers. Obviously it is right and proper that ministers engage in a debate with our concerned colleagues about this."