The Conservatives have set out their plans for welfare reform if they win the General Election. The Conservatives have pledged to halt the rising costs of welfare by reforming the benefits system if they win the General Election on July 4. The Tory manifesto outlines how they would save some £12 billion a year by the end of the next parliament by ensuring more working age people with a disability or long-term health condition currently claiming benefits, specifically Personal Independence Payment (PIP), have a job.
The number of working age people who are out of work has risen sharply since the pandemic, but the Conservative Party said the 40 per cent increase in economically inactive people from two million to 2.8 million overall since the pandemic is “unsustainable”. They have promised to bring that total down, claiming the cost of providing benefits for working age people with health conditions could rise as high as £90bn by the end of the next parliament.
Among the steps the party would take to do this are several where the early stages have already been floated by the Tories in government, including revising PIP eligibility, assessments and cash payments, making changes to the Fit Note and speeding up the move from legacy benefits to Universal Credit. One of the major investment areas includes a £700 million investment in NHS mental health treatment, to ensure 500,000 more people can access Talking Therapies to help with poor mental health. A pledge to reform the .
