Rachel Reeves is reportedly on a mission to cut around £3 billion from the welfare budget over the next four years by clamping down on access to sickness benefits. The Chancellor is poised to stick with the previous Tory government’s blueprint to save money by overhauling work capability assessments, as initially reported by The Telegraph.
The Tory plan was to tighten the screws on welfare eligibility, potentially pushing an extra 400,000 long-term signed-off people towards employment readiness by 2028/29, aiming to trim the benefits bill by a hefty £3 billion.
Ms Reeves will pledge to stick to the £3 billion cost-cutting strategy spread across four years, but it will be Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall calling the shots on how to tweak the system to make the savings. A Government spokesman said: “We have always said that the Work Capability Assessment is not working and needs to be reformed or replaced alongside a proper plan to support disabled people to work.”
“We will deliver savings through our own reforms, including genuine support to help disabled people into work.”
Ms Reeves is looking to make £40 billion through tax hikes and spending slashes in the Budget, as the Government scrambles to dodge a return to austerity, reports Plymouth Live.
Sir Keir Starmer faced the Cabinet on Thursday over the upcoming fiscal strategies, with ministers penning direct pleas to the PM, about the likelihood of slashing their department budgets by a whopping 20%. Downing Street was blunt, warning belt-tightening means “not every department will be able to do everything they want to” and “tough decisions” are on the horizon.
Number 10 confirmed Sir Keir and Ms Reeves have worked out the main thrust of the Budget, agreeing on the “spending envelope” which reigns in how much cash individual Whitehall department will have. With spending cuts almost a sure bet, tax hikes look set to hog the limelight in Ms Reeves’ scheme to patch up what Labour terms a “black hole” in the budget, courtesy of ‘Tory mismanagement’.
Taxes on profits from assets and legacies are in the Chancellor’s crosshairs as she scrambles to rustle up extra money to cement economic stability.
Before the weekend kicks in, the Chancellor has a date with finance experts on Friday, as she leads the first meeting of Labour’s new British infrastructure taskforce, aiming to grab top tips on lifting investment levels across the UK. Top brass from banking giants HSBC, Lloyds and investment powerhouse MandG are all set for a natter at this gathering, which the Treasury touts as a regular fixture.
Ms Reeves commented that their expertise will be “invaluable in the weeks and months ahead” as the Government focuses on its “number one mission to grow the economy and create jobs”. Meanwhile, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones remarked that the task force’s goal is to halt “the cycle of underinvestment that has plagued our infrastructure systems for over a decade.”