Rachel Reeves has appeared to reject her own government’s impact assessment of her welfare reforms, saying she is “absolutely certain” that the changes will not push more people into poverty.
An official impact assessment from the government estimated the welfare cuts announced in the chancellor’s budget would leave 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, in relative poverty.
Delivering her spring statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday, Reeves unveiled a £14 billion package to repair the UK economy that included deep cuts to welfare, prompting criticism from Labour MPs who urged her to reverse the reforms amid warnings they will lead to increased poverty.
Last week, the government announced large cuts to the benefits system, insisting they would save £5 billion by 2030. But the chancellor was forced to go further in the spring statement after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the fiscal watchdog, rejected the government’s estimate as to how much money the reforms would save.
The OBR found the package would only save £3.4 billion, rather than the £5 billion the government hoped. After the further cuts, the watchdog said savings will now be £4.8 billion.
At the spring statement, Reeves announced a freeze on the health element of universal credit for new claimants until 2030, after an initial cut of 50 per cent. The other changes announced last week include tightening the eligibility criteria for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and scrapping the controversial work capability assessment.
Speaking to Sky News, the chancellor said: “I am absolutely certain that our reforms, instead of pushing people into poverty, are going to get people into work.
“And we know that if you move from welfare into work, you are much less likely to be in poverty.
“That is our ambition, making people better off, not making people worse off, and also the welfare state will always be there for people who genuinely need it.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
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Source: Politics
