The reform of well-being is as follows, but the ministers of labor are careful

When Sir Keir Starmer was preparing to introduce himself to labor leaders in 2020, his campaign director told the future Prime Minister what had the party.

Morgan McSweeney stressed that whatever their faction, members of the work shared certain fundamental principles – and at the top of the list was a commitment to fight poverty and to defend the welfare state.

This is why any work politician works carefully when you are considering a reform of well-being.

This government, however, is not only trying to reform well -being – it is preparing to put it at the heart of its economic program.

In the great speech of Rachel Reeves on growth this week, she swore that to achieve a “fundamental” reform of the social protection system, the government would examine the areas that have been “usus for too long, as the increase in cost Health and disability benefits “.

What did it mean?

The question is to address frantically between the Treasury and the Department of Pensions Works (DWP) at the moment.

Liz Kendall, secretary of labor and pensions, will present a “Green paper” – or policy proposals – on the reform of social protection in just over a month, designed to demonstrate how serious the government is to find ways to put more people at work – and to save ‘Social protection budget money.

This double reason explains why this is dealt with as such an urgent question at the top of the government.

Ministers are concerned about a situation in which the number of people who receive certain advantages have increased. Meanwhile, the treasure must ensure that it is not on the right track To break your own self-imposed tax rules.

“It is at the top of the agenda for us because of the costs of costs but also of the broader economic problem of having so many economically inactive people,” said a cash source.

And in 10 Downing Street, aid say that tackling this problem would be the clearest sign for the moment when Sir Keir is really serious about the reform of public services.

Last year, the government spent 65 billion sterling pounds for sickness benefits – an increase of 25% compared to the year preceding the pandemic. This figure should increase to around 100 billion pounds sterling before the next general elections.

Part of this is Covid’s heritage. But the Chancellor clearly explained her opinion that another reason for this push is the “perverse incentives” wired in the system.

On many occasions, ministers and civil servants complain about a system where people on universal credit are necessary to display evidence that they have applied for jobs, or face sanctions – but people without work who Also eligible for health benefits get more money and are not necessarily required to look for work.

Ministers believe that it encourages some people to “play the system”. Some labor advisers fear that this problem will be exacerbated, especially among young people, by videos on Tiktok and other platforms which explain the applicants the best ways to fulfill questionnaires in order to obtain illness services.

An option that managers examine is whether there should be – as in the past – a third way by which some people on disease services are necessary to seek work – but without risk that they lose their services disease.

“Many people tell us that they are afraid of going to work in case it does not work and that they cannot go back to the safety net,” said a source of the main government.

Some in the government say that this may require more frequent assessments of the health of the applicants, but the people involved in discussions recognize that being required to explain their state to DWP can often be “traumatic”, “humiliating” and “terrifying” for vulnerable applicants.

Better training and coaching can help, but the amount of money involved may not contain a treasure that is in savings mode.

It’s quite complicated – and it is even before you reach finances and politics.

On finance, this cycle of reform of social assistance is designed to generate savings which can be “noted”, in other words, recorded by the Budget Liability Office (OBR) at the next budget at the autumn.

But those involved in previous budgets warn that it is “fundamentally impossible” to persuade the OBR that savings will actually occur.

And then there is politics.

Like McSweeney, now Sir Keir’s chief of staff, noted it – the Labor Party is deeply attached to the welfare state and deeply worried about everything that looks like the safety net.

This is not only true for party members but also deputies. Among the vast appearances in 2024 of the Labor deputies, one of their most common reasons to get involved in the Labor Party was the opposition to conservative austerity and the social cuts.

This means that even some of the most loyal to Starmer and Reeves express a significant anxiety about the Directorate of the Travel.

Some of these tensions are starting to spread into the public.

HAS PMQS this week Debbie AbrahamsThe chairman of the work of the restricted committee of work and pensions, said that “speculation” on billions of savings pounds to find from the social security budget had left “many vulnerable applicants (feeling) worried “.

She warned the Prime Minister that “language counts”.

The figures of the senior labor involved in the discussions are categorical that it is Reeves and Starmer which comply with public opinion, and not to the work deputies concerned.

We complained: “If you ask work deputies if they prefer to be on the side of the public or on the side of many activists in the labor movement and vocal handicaps – well, for some of them, c ‘is a marginal call. “

Others, however, have warned of public opinion on this question: “The public thinks they support social cuts until they hear a story about someone they feel sympathy for Lose money.

Some older hands warn against the speed with which the government could be out of step with its base, pointing to the Party decision to abstain on a conservative bill in matters of social protection in July 2015.

This was the scale of the fury of the members of the work that the conservative well-being cuts were not opposed, it is considered by many as the main reason why the leadership campaign of Jeremy Corbyn took off.

Jon Ashworth, a former Minister of the Phantom Cabinet who is still close to the best personalities in the party, urged the government to “help people embark on good well -remunerated jobs” at the heart of their reform arguments.

He said: “The social protection system as it is currently designed imprisoned people unemployed and actively denies people who want to work a real and real help.”

These political considerations are not a new territory for Reeves. She was secretary of shadow and pensions for two years before the 2015 general elections.

Her wish that work would be “harder than the conservatives on the advantages” made her deeply controversial with the group’s base for years later. Addressing the new statesman in 2021, Reeves admitted that she may have made her point of view “badly”, but insisted that “spending more in advantages is not always a sign of success. And in fact, the advantages that the invoice increases When society fails “.

These dilemmas may not be new to Reeves, but they have left some of his colleagues feeling uncomfortable.

“Of course, I worry about the policy of this,” said a minister.

“Anyone with a brain would worry about that.”