Andy Burnham’s welfare reforms could take 10 years to save taxpayers money

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Whitehall sources admitted that the plans could take as long as 10 years to deliver savings.

At the European Political Community summit in Dublin this week, Mr Burnham did not contest the claims, but argued that his plans would not involve “more money”.

The Prime Minister made clear that savings would be found “elsewhere in Government” to fund the upfront costs.

Britain already faces a ballooning welfare bill, which is due to rise even further in the coming years.

The blanket cost is forecast to rise from £333.8billion to £431.3billion by the end of 2030.

Health and disability benefits payments alone are forecast to jump from £85.6billion last year to £120.2billion over the same period.

Criticising Mr Burnham’s plan, Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick declared it is nothing more than a “can-kicking exercise”.

He told the Daily Mail: “No amount of reviews will change the Labour Party’s addiction to benefits.

“This is yet another can-kicking exercise, with taxpayers made to fork out billions more in taxes to pay for Burnham’s weakness.”

However, backbench Labour MPs have warned that the reforms will create a “two-tier” welfare system.

MP Brian Leishman told the Daily Mail: “‘Taking money off young disabled people who cannot work will not incentivise anyone into work.

“To think that it will is ludicrous.”

Mr Milburn’s review, due to be published next week, is expected to urge the Prime Minister to block under-25s from receiving the health element of universal credit and personal independence payments (PIP), with the savings used for back-to-work schemes.

Despite calling the review a “watershed moment” for welfare reform, Mr Burnham stopped short of fully committing to implementing Mr Milburn’s recommendations.

He said: “We will have to wait until the report is published. It’s a wide-ranging report, and obviously we’ll set out our response next week.

“But I think it’s really important to see the report as quite a watershed moment I think in terms of how we think about supporting young people and supporting young people into work.

“It’s starting to point to a very different way of thinking about welfare and support, and moving more towards guaranteeing support for young people to move forward and get into work, rather than leaving them in a situation where they don’t get the support when they need it and then end up on benefits in their 20s. Nobody wants that.

“So there are big implications, but I think we’ll have to wait for the report. There are lots of detailed recommendations, so I can’t give you that blanket assurance here tonight.”