Wednesday 6 May 2015

Hitlist of Welfare Cuts Facing Next Chancellor

A list of “very, highly or extremely controversial” potential cuts to benefits have been drawn up by civil servants in response to warnings that the next government would struggle to keep welfare spending below a legal cap of about £120bn a year. Options laid out include:
• employers to contribute more to the cost of statutory maternity pay – or abolish it entirely.
• Freezing benefit payments at current levels across the board.
• Limiting welfare payments by family size.
• Forcing single parents on income support to seek work when their youngest child reaches the age of three (currently five).
• Making it harder for sick people to claim state aid when they are out of work by introducing “stricter” fit-for-work tests and/or tighter limits on eligibility.
• Increasing the bedroom tax on certain categories of renters.
• Barring under-25s from claiming incapacity benefit or housing benefit.

Read more on the Guardian website.

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