LABOUR’S £5billion welfare squeeze will not be enough to rein in rising disability benefits, a minister has admitted.
Costs will still go up, Sir Stephen Timms conceded.
Richard Townshend PhotographyMinister Sir Stephen Timms says the £5billion welfare squeeze will NOT rein in rising disability benefits[/caption]
Reforms aim to slash spending by tightening Personal Independence Payment (PIP) eligibility and cutting the health top-up for new Universal Credit claimants. Around a million in England and Wales could lose benefits.
But Social Security Minister Sir Stephen warned the welfare bill — driven largely by PIP claims — is still likely to balloon to £100billion within five years.
He argued changes will merely slow down the rate of increase, making the system “sustainable in the long term.”
And he confirmed those with anxiety may still qualify for PIP, telling Times Radio: “It depends what the effect of the condition is on wellbeing. The number of points you get determine how much PIP you get.”
PM Sir Keir Starmer’s move has triggered outrage from leftie Labour MPs, charities and disability campaigners, who claim it will leave thousands worse off.
Labour veteran Diane Abbott tore into Sir Keir at PMQs, saying there was “nothing moral” about the reforms.
But the PM insisted it was a “moral issue” one in eight young people were not in employment, education or training.
Figures yesterday show one in 12 working-age Brits could be out of work due to sickness by 2030.
The Department for Work and Pensions predicts 3.62million will be economically inactive — up 61 per cent since before Covid.
Meanwhile, the number of young people unable to work due to mental health issues has doubled since 2015, with nearly a million now affected.
‘£70 isn’t enough’
A MINISTER has admitted that he could “absolutely not” survive on a disability benefit of around £70 a week.
Pensions minister Torsten Bell sparked uproar after saying he would struggle to live on the sum because he has “a mortgage to pay”.
Yet thousands of young people could be forced to survive on £70 under welfare reforms blocking under-22s from claiming sickness benefits.
Mr Bell told BBC Newsnight: “This system has to change. I need to deliver a sustainable benefits system.”
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