Earlier this year, the Labour government sought to cut nearly \u00a35bn from the disability and health-related benefits bill but had to backtrack after a rebellion by its own MPs.<\/p>\n
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has suggested<\/a> the government will return to the issue, telling the BBC that changes to the welfare system “must happen”. <\/p>\n Last year, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast<\/a> that total spending on health and disability benefits would rise from \u00a364.7bn in 2023-24 to \u00a3100.7bn in 2029-30.<\/p>\n The Tories argue they can reduce the bill by reviewing exemptions for the Household Benefit Cap, limiting the VAT subsidy for Motability – which allows claimants to lease vehicles – and changing obligations for job-seekers.<\/p>\n It says it would stop claims for people suffering from “low-level health” mental health problems arguing that “what is really needed is treatment and support, not cash”.<\/p>\n It also says it would keep in place the two-child benefit cap,<\/a> which prevents households on universal or child tax credit from receiving payments for a third or subsequent child born after April 2017.<\/p>\n The Labour government has been under pressure to remove the cap, with many of its backbenchers arguing the limit has increased the number of children in poverty.<\/p>\n The Resolution Foundation says axing the cap would lift 470,000 children out of poverty and would cost around \u00a33.5bn.<\/p>\n