Welfare reform is back on the agenda

This week Jonathan Ashworth set out Labour’s answer to the 5.2 million on out-of-work benefits – a figure which The Spectator was first to pick up on. Now the Times reports on the government’s own plans to help those on out of work benefits back into employment. Since the pandemic, successful disability claims are up by 70 per cent, with the Office for Budget Responsibility suggesting that the cost of long-term sickness benefits will rise to £8.2 billion by 2027.

Economic growth is one of Rishi Sunak's five promises; he is said to be concerned about achieving that goal without bringing many of the economically inactive people back into work to solve labour shortages. A range of policies are reportedly on the table. Among them including allowing people to keep claiming sickness benefits after returning to work or offering tax breaks as an incentive.