Chancellor Set to Cut Welfare Spending by Billions
The chancellor has earmarked several billion pounds in draft spending cuts to welfare and other government departments ahead of the Spring Statement. The Treasury will put the proposed cuts to the government's official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), on Wednesday amid expectations the chancellor's financial buffer has been wiped out. Sources said "the world has changed" since Rachel Reeves's Budget last October, when the OBR indicated she had £9.9bn available to spend against her self-imposed borrowing rules.
- The government's decision to cut welfare spending as a response to global economic pressures and trade tensions reflects a broader trend in wealthy nations where fiscal austerity is being reinvented to address rising inequality and social unrest.
- Will these cuts exacerbate the UK's existing social care crisis, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations such as the elderly and disabled individuals?