Plans to reform Britain’s soaring disability bill has been shelved, after a Government-led review was told it did not need to identify any savings.
The review had been ordered by Sir Keir Starmer to appease Labour backbenchers rebelling over the plan to save up to £5billion by limiting access to personal independence payments (Pip).
While the reforms were scrapped anyway, the review, led by Welfare Minister Sir Stephen Timms, is not expected to find any savings from the ever-rising costs of Pip, reports The Times.
A government source told The Times the review set an “outer limit” on the amount Pip spending could rise by and that savings could be made within that.
The source added that ministers had always been clear that the purpose of the review was not to save money.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimated last year that Pip spending would hit £34billion by the end of the decade.
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately said: “Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have said they need to make welfare savings.
“But now we see the terms of reference for their review of sickness benefits, and the truth is plain to see. Labour are too weak to make tough decisions.”
Sir Keir Starmer is set to appease Labour backbenchers over the reforms
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PA
Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said it showed “Labour have thrown in the towel on welfare reform.”
A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions told The Times: “We want a welfare state that is there for those who need it and supports people into work, while delivering fairness to the taxpayer.
“And that’s why we’re launching the Timms review to make sure Pip is fair and fit for the future.
“We’re shifting our focus from welfare to work, skills and opportunities so more people can move out of poverty and into good, secure jobs as part of the plan for change.”
Helen Whatley accused Labour of being ‘too weak’
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Parliament.tvIn the Lords today, the former head of the British Army has said Britain is too focused on welfare spending rather than funding defence despite the threat posed by Russia.
Lord Houghton of Richmond, who served as chief of defence staff between 2013 and 2016, called on the Government to do more as he said decision-making still resembled “peacetime planning”.
Speaking in a debate in the House of Lords on the war in Ukraine, Lord Houghton said: “(Vladimir Putin) will see Britain as Americans proxy.
“He will have a fully mobilised set of armed forces, an untouched suite of strategic capabilities, a fully mobilised war economy and the window of opportunity to act whilst Nato, certainly the UK, at the moment, still prioritises welfare benefits over national security.”
The Prime Minister suspended the whip from Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff.
The four MPs all voted against the Government over the welfare reform legislation, but party sources said the decision to suspend the whip was taken as a result of persistent breaches of discipline rather than a single rebellion.
Sir Keir Starmer said he had to “deal with people who repeatedly break the whip” and that everyone elected as a Labour MP needs to “deliver as a Labour Government”.
Asked at a press conference in July if his decision to punish MPs made him look weak, the Prime Minister said the party was elected to enact change and “we’ve got to carry through that change, and we’ve got to carry through reforms”.
Rachael Maskell had the whip withdrawn
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PAYork Central MP Ms Maskell said earlier she thought Sir Keir’s response was wrong, saying: “On this occasion, I don’t think he’s got it right.”
She told the BBC: “I really hope from this process there will be reflection over the summer, but also learning.
“There needs to be a better reach-out to backbenchers to ensure that we are the safeguards of our Government.”