A cabinet minister has appeared to confirm reports that further cuts to welfare spending are in the pipeline after the budget watchdog ruled previously-announced measures will not save the £5 billion a year expected by 2030.
According to multiple reports on Wednesday morning, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) found that the measures would only cut the welfare bill by £3.4 billion, with Rachel Reeves now expected to announce further measures to save a further £500 million.
John Healey, the defence secretary, told Times Radio: “That’s a calculation we may see confirmed by the Office for Budget Responsibility about the longer-term savings that our plans to change the welfare system may bring.
“That’s a must-do for any responsible government, particularly one that believes in the importance of our social security system.”
Healey added: “You can’t have a benefits system that is failing people and out of control in this way.
“That’s why the plans that [work and pensions secretary] Liz Kendall laid out last week, and that you’ll hear more from the chancellor this afternoon in the spring statement, are so important.
“We want the social security system to work. It’s got to be there to support the poorest, but it’s also got to be there to make sure those who can work are able to do so.”
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Overall, the chancellor is expected to announce about £15 billion of savings to meet her self-imposed fiscal rules, after the OBR forced her to reopen spending plans by halving its growth forecasts.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon, Reeves will unveil an extra £2.2 billion to be spent on the UK’s defence over the next year.
Reeves will say the UK must “move quickly in a changing world” to up its defence commitment. The extra funding is being put on the table as the government aims to hike defence spending to 2.5 per cent of the UK’s economic output by 2027.
Reeves will insist this plan, set out by the prime minister in February, was the “right decision in a more insecure world”, adding: “But we have to move quickly in a changing world. And that starts with investment.”
“This increase in investment is not just about increasing our national security but increasing our economic security, too. As defence spending rises, I want the whole country to feel the benefits”, the chancellor is expected to tell MPs.
The April funding increase will help pay for new technologies, like long range laser and microwave weapons — collectively known as directed energy weapons — which will be fitted to warships.
Commenting on this announcement, Healey said national security was “the bedrock of a successful economy”.
“This significant increase in defence spending, on top of the £2.9 billion announced by the Chancellor at the Budget, means an extra £5 billion for our Armed Forces next financial year”, he said.
Healey added: “This investment will make Britain stronger and safer in a more insecure world. And it will ensure defence is an engine for growth, creating good jobs across the nation.
“These are the bold first steps of the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War announced by the prime minister last month.
“Our government is delivering for defence and investing in the outstanding men and women who keep Britain secure at home and strong abroad.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
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