Govt denies £2.5 benefit cut
By politics.co.uk staff
The government has denied it has plans to cut £2.5 billion from the benefits bill.
A letter leaked to the Observer suggested ministers had decided to cut the sum from the employment and support allowance by 2014/15, but chief secretary to the Treasury Douglas Alexander denied the move.
“Things have moved on since June, in the sense that Iain Duncan Smith has published an excellent consultation paper looking at much wider and more radical reform of the welfare system,” he told Sky News.
“Of course we are looking for significant savings in the welfare system. Savings that are fair; savings that encourage people to get out to work.”
Accoding to the Observer, chancellor George Osborne wrote to work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith: “Reform to the employment support allowance is a particular priority and I am pleased that you, the prime minister, and I have agreed to press ahead with reforms to the ESA as part of the spending review that deliver net savings of at least £2.5 billion by 2014/15.”
Mr Alexander’s opposite number, Yvette Cooper, said the report showed budget cuts would hit the “sickest people”.
