The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is facing pressure to reduce Universal Credit payments by £241 per month for approximately 400,000 claimants as part of a new crackdown on welfare spending. The Conservative Party has announced plans to reform the household benefit cap, aiming to prevent households from receiving unlimited benefit payments.
Conservative Proposals
The Tories have stated that households would only be exempt from the cap if all adults who can work are employed. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the plans would "stop those who abuse the system getting almost unlimited welfare payments." Currently, 111,000 households are affected by the cap, with DWP figures from November showing an average monthly reduction of £241 per capped household.
Estimated Savings
The Conservatives estimate that bringing an additional 200,000 families under the cap would save £600 million annually, while expanding it to 400,000 more families would save around £1.2 billion. Badenoch emphasized, "Welfare must always be there for those who need it most, but it should never discourage work or reward dependency." She added that the party believes in fairness, meaning those on welfare should face similar choices about family as those who are not.
Disability Benefits Review
In December, Badenoch indicated that the Conservatives would significantly scale back which conditions entitle people to benefits. "We are going to review which conditions the state treats as disabilities when it comes to benefits," she said. She noted that with one in four people now self-reporting as disabled, it is necessary to draw a line on what health issues the state can support.
Labour Response
A Labour Party spokesperson accused the Conservatives of creating the Universal Credit system, which "left too many people shamefully signed off and written off without support to get into work." They added, "We are fixing the system and investing £2.5 billion in the Youth Guarantee to support young people into work, training and apprenticeships; re-balancing the incentives in the system and introducing the right to try work without triggering a reassessment."
