Spring Statement 2025: More welfare cuts to come
MPs and voters will “hear more” from the Chancellor on welfare cuts at the Spring Statement, the defence secretary has said.
John Healey has appeared to confirm that further cuts to welfare spending will be required because the budget watchdog has said previously-announced measures will not save the £5bn a year expected by 2030.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is reported to have concluded the measures will cut the bill by £3.4bn, with Rachel Reeves expected to announce further measures to save a further £500m, according to The Times.
Healey told Times Radio: “That’s a calculation we may see confirmed by the OBR 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.”
He 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.”
Healey’s comments came as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said ahead of the fiscal event this lunchtime: “In an era of global change, we will deliver security for working people and renewal for Britain.”
Alongside the statement, the government will release an impact assessment indicating how many people will be hit by the previously announced plans to cut the welfare bill, amid mounting unease on the Labour benches about the scale of the welfare cuts.