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Kemi Badenoch sets out plan to slash £36billion from Britain's runaway welfare bill
Kemi Badenoch unveils £36bn welfare cuts plan to address £180bn annual cost.
In brief
Kemi Badenoch unveils £36bn welfare cuts plan to address £180bn annual cost. Kemi Badenoch plans to cut £36 billion from Britain's welfare bill by ending benefits for low-level mental health conditions and back pain, reinstating the two-child benefit cap, and reforming housing benefits. Originally reported by…
Kemi Badenoch unveils welfare plan
Kemi Badenoch will publish a 52-page report setting out detailed proposals to slash £36 billion from Britain's welfare bill.
Welfare bill costs £180bn annually
The welfare system costs the UK £180 billion a year, more than the entire GDP of Ukraine and exceeding spending on defense, education, and police combined.
Average taxpayer pays £4,000
The welfare bill costs the average taxpayer more than £4,000 a year each.
Targeted welfare cuts
The plan includes ending sickness and disability benefits for low-level mental health conditions and back pain, saving £13.7 billion.
Foreign nationals barred from benefits
Foreign nationals from outside the EU will be barred from claiming benefits in the UK, saving £9.5 billion.
Housing benefit reform
Housing benefit payments will be pegged to rents in the cheapest 10 percent of the market, saving £4.5 billion.
Two-child benefit cap reinstated
The two-child benefit cap will be reinstated, saving £3.1 billion annually.
Child disability living allowance
Child disability living allowance payments will be cut for those with mild mental health and behavioral disorders, saving £2.8 billion.
Work requirement reform
Reform household benefit cap to require all adults in the family to work at least 16 hours a week, saving £1 billion.
Motability reform
Reform Motability by ending VAT exemption for lease payments, saving £1 billion.
Fraud reduction
Cut fraud and error in welfare system, saving £1 billion.
Subsidy for long-term unemployed
Introduce lower 'subsistence allowance' for long-term unemployed, saving £500 million.
Labour opposition
Shadow welfare secretary Helen Whately called the welfare system 'out of control' and criticized the current approach as 'a safety net designed for a country emerging from war'.
Previous welfare cuts failed
The government abandoned plans to shave £5 billion off the welfare bill last year following a revolt by Labour MPs.
Prime Minister's stance
The Prime Minister has said he is determined to rein in welfare spending 'in a Labour way', avoiding 'crude cuts'.
No short-term savings
Reviews of youth unemployment and disability benefits are expected but unlikely to lead to short-term savings.
The key point
Kemi Badenoch plans to cut £36 billion from Britain's welfare bill by ending benefits for low-level mental health conditions and back pain, reinstating the two-child benefit cap, and reforming housing benefits.
