Bill Manwaring, a spokesman for the NI Conservatives, has described the government’s plans to reform welfare as “absolutely necessary and absolutely right”. MPs meet in the House of Commons today to vote on a proposed cap of 1% on many benefits payments for the next 3 years.
“This cap is about fairness, because workers’ wages have not kept pace with benefits payments in recent years”, Bill commented. “It is simply not fair to ask people whose pay-packets have been seriously squeezed to pay out more and more each year to cover an ever increasing welfare bill”.
“When Labour was in government it allowed the welfare system to get out of control and the bill rose by 60%, costing every household in the UK £3,000 per year. The result is that out of work benefits have gone up almost twice as rapidly as the incomes of those who are in work, over the past 5 years.”
“The coalition’s consistent approach has been to ensure welfare is fairer, both for tax payers and benefits recipients: whether by making the process of claiming simpler through the Universal Credit, introducing a cap on benefits at £26,000 or making work pay. At the very heart of the reform is a commitment that those most in need will be protected and the focus will be placed upon delivering for the most isolated and vulnerable people in our communities. Some of the measures may not be easy, but they’re the right thing to do in the longer term.”
“In Northern Ireland we have particularly high levels of dependency and we’re far too quick to park people on benefits. The need to reform the welfare system here is especially urgent and the Assembly needs to make rapid progress on the Welfare Reform Bill which is currently passing through Stormont.”