Sickness benefit budget will get slashed

Campaigners fear the poorest will yet again bear the brunt of sweeping public spending cuts.

It comes as chancellor Rachel Reeves's is reported to have made plans for massive social security cuts to the Office of Budget Responsibility.

Last year, the government spent £65 billion on sickness benefits- a 25% increase from the year before the Covid pandemic. That figure is forecast to increase to around £100bn before the next general election.

New welfare cuts that are designed to reduce this huge growth in health-related benefits, are expected to be outlined in a forthcoming speech from Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall.

Peter Kelly, Poverty Alliance chief executive, said: “People in the UK are desperate for a government that delivers a just and compassionate country - and that's one of the reasons so many voted for change at the last General Election. These proposed cuts do not embody those values.

“Further cuts to our already inadequate social security system will push more people into poverty – undermining the government’s child poverty strategy before it is even published.

“Our social security system - like our NHS - is something that the UK can be rightly proud of. Together, we decided to make sure that all of us have a right to support when we need it.

“It’s unjust that the government are seeking to, once again, balance the books on the backs of those on the lowest incomes. Rachel Reeves has said that 'the world had changed', but unfortunately not much has changed for those living on low incomes. 

“We urge the Chancellor to think again, looking instead at wealth taxes and changes to self-imposed fiscal rules.”