Key facts
- Reform UK plans to cut £50 billion annually from the UK benefits bill.
- Campaigners warn these cuts could push hundreds of thousands of children into poverty.
- The reforms aim to sustainably fund the triple lock pension.
- Plans include changes to disability benefits, replacing cash payments with support accounts.
- Employers may be obliged to fund the first two years of an employee's sick pay.
- An estimated 2.89 million current claimants could see their benefits modified or withdrawn.
Reform UK's Robert Jenrick has outlined plans for a £50 billion welfare cut, stating it is necessary to "sustainably pay" for the triple lock pension. The reforms, described as the biggest overhaul of the benefits system in a generation, would affect around 3 million people, including foreign nationals, but Jenrick emphasized it would not target pensioners. The proposals aim to replace cash payments for low-level conditions with disability support accounts managed by local authorities and obligate employers to fund the first two years of an employee's sick pay. Jenrick claimed these measures would save more than double the £23 billion promised by the Conservatives, with £22 billion coming from changes to disability benefits alone. An estimated 2.89 million current claimants could see their benefits modified or withdrawn, while 2.16 million would retain their full entitlement. Critics, including the Conservative party and Labour, have labelled the plans as "fantasy economics" and accused Reform UK of attempting to distract from other issues.