Andy Burnham welfare reform and Universal Credit and PIP reviews, Digi Mart USA News (United Kingdom): Andy Burnham’s approach to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) appears to have shifted after Louise Haigh declined to commit to welfare and benefits cuts during Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), according to the publisher’s report.
Deputising for Mr Burnham at PMQs, Ms Haigh, the First Secretary of State, stopped short of confirming whether Labour would take action to address spiralling DWP expenditure. When pressed by Alex Burghart, the deputy Conservative Party leader, on whether the 10-year plan running until 2036 would reduce the welfare bill, she said: “We are taking steps already to bring the welfare bill down and we will take further [steps].
We’ve committed to legislate.”
Mr Burnham is currently awaiting the outcomes of two significant reviews: the Milburn Review into Universal Credit and the Timms Review into Personal Independence Payment. Both benefits carry the highest caseload figures and are widely regarded as the primary drivers behind the rapidly growing welfare bill, the report said.
Mr Burnham had previously ruled out “crude cuts.”
Mr Burghart told the House: “The Government isn’t going to fix welfare and we know why. We know why, because the welfare secretary told us.” He said the welfare secretary had described meetings with Labour MPs as being about who could be taxed to pay benefits, adding that the honourable lady was likely one of those MPs.
According to the Telegraph, as cited in the report, Ms Haigh refused to commit to the benefits bill being reduced during this parliament, stating only that Labour was dedicated to bringing it down. When pushed for details, she declined to give a timeframe.
“We have been repeatedly clear that we cannot afford to pay for failure and must invest in success, and that is how we will bring the welfare bill down,” she said.
She added: “We will make support more conditional on taking up opportunities, ensuring young people get help earlier, tackling the long-term drivers of welfare spending, including housing costs. And we will do all this in a Labour way.” Mr Burghart told the Commons that “the Labour way” would equate to “more tax, more welfare and more borrowing.”
Chancellor John Healey outlined a range of cost of living measures in his Budget but postponed any significant overhaul of the welfare system until the release of two major reviews next month. Former Labour Cabinet minister Alan Milburn is due to publish his recommendations on addressing the almost one million young people not in education, employment or training, classed as ‘Neets’.
