Overview
- The Department for Work and Pensions has been told it will not get time in Parliament for new benefits bills until next year at the earliest.
- The previously announced “unemployment insurance” proposal is being shelved after last year’s welfare push ran into Labour resistance.
- Reports indicate the DWP has so far failed to secure inclusion in May’s King’s Speech, though a government spokesman says final decisions are not yet made.
- Two major reviews are due this year — Sir Stephen Timms on disability benefits in the autumn and Alan Milburn on youth worklessness with findings in March and July — and their recommendations are expected to require primary legislation.
- Official forecasts show welfare spending rising by about £35 billion over five years to £368 billion, as a cut to the sickness top-up for new claimants still takes effect in April.