UK’s Conservatives pledge to save 12 billion-pounds in sickness benefits
LONDON, June 11 – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party, which is up for election next month, unveiled details of its proposal on Saturday to tighten the regulations governing sickness benefits. The party said that this move would ultimately save 12 billion pounds ($15.3 billion) annually.
Sunak stated that his reforms were both “a moral mission” and a means of aiding in the repair of the public finances. Sunak has previously stated that he intends to alter welfare regulations to combat an increase in the number of individuals leaving the labour.
The plan called for additional funding for mental health services, stricter evaluations of people’s capacity for work, and harsher penalties for those who decline to accept eligible employment offers.
By the conclusion of the next parliament, which is scheduled to run until 2029, the measures will save taxpayers 12 billion pounds a year in welfare payments, according to the Conservatives.
However, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, asserted that many of the proposed adjustments were already included in the budgetary estimates that are currently in place.
According to IFS Associate Director Tom Waters, the most significant new suggestion would limit the number of recipients who would be eligible for benefits due to a mental health issue.
He stated, “Cuts are definitely possible.” “But history suggests that reductions in spending are often much harder to realise than is claimed.”
Since Britain’s previous election in 2019 – before to the COVID pandemic – spending on welfare benefits for sick and handicapped people has increased by 20 billion pounds yearly to 69 billion pounds annually, with an additional 10.6 billion pounds anticipated to rise by 2029, according to the IFS.
The number of working-age Britons has decreased from its pre-pandemic level, primarily due to an increase in long-term illness and the student population, in contrast to an increase in other wealthy nations.
The national election has been scheduled for July 4 by Sunak. According to opinion polls, his Conservatives are expected to lose badly against the opposition Labour Party, which is on the center-left.