The true cost of Labour’s benefits cuts | LBC callers

Ben Kentish hears from callers sharing their reaction to Labour's welfare cuts, as Liz Kendall unveils a benefits crackdown aimed at saving £5 billion a year by 2030.

The rising benefits bill is "devastating" for the public finances and has "wreaked a terrible human cost", Sir Keir Starmer said in the wake of cutting welfare by £5 billion.

The Government on Tuesday announced a raft of welfare measures it says will help bring more working-age people back into jobs, and which will save the taxpayer billions of pounds.

Among the most significant moves is the tightening of eligibility for personal independence payments (Pip), a benefit aimed at helping those with disability or long-term illness with increased living costs.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to be affected by the changes to Pip eligibility, which are expected to account for the largest proportion of savings the Government hopes to make.

Elsewhere, ministers will scrap the work capability assessment for universal credit, the test of whether someone can get incapacity benefit payments based on their fitness for work.

This will be replaced by 2028 with a single assessment considering the impact a person's disability has on daily living, rather than their fitness to work.

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