The DWP has denied that the government risks breaching
its self-imposed cap on welfare spending because of the rising cost of
disability benefits. Leaked documents
suggested that the government was running out of options to cut costs, while
employment and support allowance (ESA) costs continued to rise. Internal
government memos reportedly said that the ESA was "one of the largest
fiscal risks currently facing the Government", leaving it "vulnerable
to a breach" of the cap, which was set at £119.5bn for 2015-16. According
to the documents, the cost of ESA was projected to rise by nearly £13bn between
the current financial year and 2018-19, largely due to people moving on to the
benefit from jobseeker's allowance, which has more sanctions for misconduct.
Read more on the Guardian website.
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