- John Healey has insisted the government will reduce the ballooning welfare bill before the next general election, despite delaying major policy decisions in the Budget.
- The Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that the total cost of health-related benefits will reach £105bn by 2028-29, with three-quarters going to working-age adults.
- Major changes to welfare have been delayed until 2027 to await the outcome of a review into youth unemployment led by Alan Milburn.
- Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and the Institute for Fiscal Studies criticised the government for failing to tackle the welfare system immediately.
- Healey rejected crude cuts to benefits amid cost-of-living pressures, arguing that reforms to Universal Credit and face-to-face assessments are already underway.
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