Labour is finally waking up to the benefits crisis

The welfare bill currently unsustainably stands at £314 billion. It is forecast to reach nearly £380 billion by the end of the decade. Rumoured Labour cuts, set to be announced as part of the Spring Statement on 26 March, have just been reported by ITV News and include plans for £6 billion of welfare cuts. That won’t do much to stop the bill rising to £380 billion, but the fact that this government is prepared to make cuts suggests it is finally waking up to this unsustainable issue.

The reported reforms include £5 billion of savings through making Personal Independence Payments (PIP) – a disability-related benefit – harder to qualify for. Under the current system, PIP is one of the fastest-growing areas of welfare expenditure, thanks in large part to claims related to anxiety and depression. Before the pandemic, some 2,080 people were granted new PIP payments every month; it is now nearly 5,900.