Healey insists the benefits bill 'will come down under Labour' but says he 'never set out the timetable for savings'
John Healey spoke with Laura Kuenssberg as Chief Treasury Secretary Emma Reynolds also refused to commit, telling LBC the government had reduced the gap between youth and adult minimum wage rates "by a third.
Chancellor John Healey used a Sunday morning BBC appearance to insist the overall welfare bill will fall under Labour, after a chaotic week in which No 10 had to distance itself from his own earlier comments. The Office for Budget Responsibility has warned sickness and disability benefits alone could hit £100 billion a year by the end of the decade. Healey delayed major welfare changes until 2027 in his Budget and says legislation will follow two reviews due this month.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds added that Labour will legislate to cut the welfare bill 'in a fair and sustainable way' — but admitted she cannot set a timetable.
Healey blamed the confusion on media misreporting, saying suggestions he had promised cuts before the next election were 'simply wrong'.
The OBR also warned Healey will need to find an extra £11bn to prevent real-terms cuts to day-to-day spending in the final years of his fiscal forecast.
