30.03.15
Welfare cuts are coming, we just don’t know from where
Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith revealed over the weekend that “no decisions” have been made on where to make further benefit cuts.
Earlier this month, the chancellor outlined in his budget that the Conservatives, should they win the general election, would aim to cut £12bn from the welfare budget by 2017-18.
But speaking on the Andrew Marr Show, Duncan Smith stated that leaked documents which outlined ‘potential’ options, including restricting Carer's Allowance, taxing disability benefits and limiting child benefit to the first two children and regional variations in benefit caps, had not been discussed with George Osborne.
He said it was standard for government departments to put figures together – but that did not mean they were policy.
“I know that it is feasible to save £12bn, it is less than 10% of the overall budget... There will be loads and loads of things that people are looking at, because that’s what departments do,” he said.
But Rachel Reeves MP, Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary, stated that the public have a right to know “who will be hit by the Tories’ plan and they must now come clean on their £12bn cuts”.
So what’s the best bet? Even the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) isn’t that sure.
For example, the IFS director, Paul Johnson, has been reported as saying that reductions under Labour would be “quite a lot less” but could involve big cuts in the first couple of years after the election and would leave the country with a deficit of up to £30bn – while the Tories would eliminate it altogether.
(Image: c. Isabel Infantes EMPICS Entertainment)
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