John Healey promised the benefits bill will be cut before the next election today – despite failing to lay out any plans in the Budget.
The Chancellor faced a furious backlash over the absence of any action in his fiscal package yesterday, with Kemi Badenoch accusing Labour of being ‘addicted’ to welfare.
Detailed forecasts revealed that welfare spending will be £6billion higher in 2030-31 than anticipated just in March. Benefits uprating and more universal credit claims accounted for most of the change.
Health and disability benefits will exceed £100billion a year by the 2028-29 financial year, up from £85.6billion in 2025-26.
It was previously forecast to top £100billion a year in 2029-30.
But in his speech Mr Healey merely said the overall bill would be curbed in a ‘Labour way’, pointing to ongoing reviews by Alan Milburn into the youth unemployment crisis and PIP by disability minister Stephen Timms.
Asked directly if there ‘will be cuts in welfare before the election’, John Healey (pictured with Andy Burnham yesterday) replied: ‘There will be, there will be a reduction in the benefits bill.’
OBR forecasts yesterday revealed the pressure on welfare spending in the coming years
The Treasury’s independent watchdog broke down the factors in the increase
In a round of interviews after his Budget, Mr Healey was pressed repeatedly on what he would do about the issue and dismissed ‘crude cuts’.
‘I’ve said clearly, the Prime Minister said as well, we have to bring the benefits bill down,’ he said.
‘You don’t do that by crude cuts, especially when people are feeling the cost of living pressures.’
He insisted the Government had already been reducing the ‘rate of increase in the welfare bill compared to the previous period’.
That included bringing back face to face assessments for claimants, he said.
Pushed again what the Government would do, Mr Healey said: ‘This system is unsustainable. I’ve been clear about that.
‘The Prime Minister’s been clear about it. The question is what you do about it.’
Asked directly if there ‘will be cuts in welfare before the election’, the Chancellor replied: ‘There will be, there will be a reduction in the benefits bill.
‘We’ll do that in a Labour way and we will do that because it is simply not good for Britain or progressive to have a bigger and bigger benefits bill..
‘I feel a moral duty to deal with these youngsters who at the moment have been written off by previous governments.’
