As a Conservative I firmly believe in supporting the vulnerable and those who cannot work due to a disability or ill health – providing a proper safety net. However, we cannot ignore the fact that spending on health and disability benefits is set to hit £100 billion by the end of the decade. This includes the cost of disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payments (PIP), which support people with additional costs to manage a disability, and incapacity benefits such as the health-component of Universal Credit to support those unable to work.
Without any action the growing bill would mean £1 in every £4 of income tax will be spent on those benefits. This is neither fair to people left on benefits or taxpayers who pay for it; nor is it sustainable.
This week the government brought its Universal Credit and PIP Bill to the House of Commons. But faced with over 100 MPs opposing the cuts, the government changed the legislation so that existing claimants will not lose out. Then in chaotic scenes during the debate the minister announced the PIP provisions would be deleted from the Bill only a few hours after the Work and Pensions Secretary said they were essential.
Sadly these proposals are not about proper reform of the welfare system such as those my party embarked on with the introduction of Universal Credit which created a much more effective system. Instead they were rushed measures introduced to ensure the Chancellor did not break her fiscal rules.
Yet the government’s u-turns have managed to turn legislation that was meant to save £5 billion into changes that may cost taxpayers more. Against the huge projected growth in spending, Sir Keir Starmer’s approach fails to rise to the challenge we face.
That’s why I voted against these measures. The government should have brought forward proper reforms to bring the welfare budget down, get more people into work, and stop taxes from rising.
Welfare reform can make a huge difference to people’s lives and the economy. Over 1 million disabled people were supported into work under the last government. We need to tackle the rise in economic activity –including allowing people to try work without the worry they would lose benefits if it didn’t work out and improving the fit note system to stop people being written off as not fit for work.
Another area that could be implemented immediately is face to face assessments. During Covid these were replaced with phone assessments. However, in person assessments have not increased despite the restrictions having long been removed. There are people on social media who advise how to answer questions to get the highest levels of support - such abuse needs to be stopped and getting back to in person assessments would help.
As I pointed out to the Chancellor at Treasury questions, the reversal of her winter fuel cuts and the shredding of her welfare cuts means there is several billion pounds of unfunded spending which will have to be paid for. That likely means taxes will be increased again. She refused in response to my question to rule out extending the freeze on income tax thresholds due to end in 2028.
There is also pressure from Labour MPs to scrap the two child benefit policy which would cost £3.5 billion. After this week’s chaos, who would bet against such a change?
Rather than these botched cuts we need a serious reform agenda based on rewarding hard work, protect those most in need, and deliver a fairer deal for taxpayers.
