Jeremy Hunt’s carrot-and-stick Autumn Statement for benefit recipients as they get 6.7% rise in handouts costing taxpayers £3billion but face clampdown that will force more into jobs – with housebound told to WFH

Jeremy Hunt will increase benefits in line with inflation in his Autumn Statement today but force more recipients to seek work – even if they are housebound. 

The Chancellor will raise handouts by 6.7 per cent next year, in line with September’s inflation rate, after he rejected the idea of using the lower October rate as a benchmark in a decision that will cost £3billion.

But at the same time he has unveiled a range of changes designed to get more people in receipt of disability benefits back into work. Currently some 42 per cent are in work.

From 2025 those who are housebound with physical or mental illness will be told that it is not a barrier to getting a job, thanks to technology that makes working from home easier.

And any claimants who refuse to look for work could lose their benefits in as little as six months under changes designed to lower the workless rate. 

The Chancellor will raise handouts by 6.7 per cent next year, in line with September’s inflation rate, after he rejected the idea of using the lower October rate as a benchmark in a decision that will cost £3billion.

But at the same time he has unveiled a range of changes designed to get more people in receipt of disability benefits back into work. Currently some 42 per cent are in work.

Under one plan, benefits would have been ‘uprated’ next year by the lower October inflation figure of 4.6 per cent, saving the Treasury around £2 billion.

However, a source said earlier this week that the full rise had now been deemed ‘affordable’ after better-than-expected forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility were delivered on Friday.

Mr Hunt  headed for Parliament today as he vows to ‘get Britain growing’ by cutting taxes and cracking down on the workshy.

In a crucial Autumn Statement, the Chancellor will draw battle lines for a long election struggle by starting to reduce the eye-watering burden on businesses and families.

He is expected to cut National Insurance in a move that will benefit 28million Brits, as well as making permanent a £10billion-a-year tax break for firms.

There will be good news for state pensioners, with the triple-lock honoured in full – meaning an 8.5 per cent hike, equivalent to around £18 a week for most.

Duties on beer, wine and spirits, and pubs and bars are widely predicted to be frozen, while bars could have their 75 per cent business rates holiday extended.

The Cabinet met this morning to be briefed on the contents of the package, with sources saying the mood was ‘buoyant’.

Before leaving No11, Mr Hunt said the statement would include ‘110 different measures to help grow the British economy’ saying they would make a ‘really big difference’.

He has been handed some wriggle room by bigger-than-anticipated tax revenues and easing inflation.

However, the fiscal position remains incredibly tight, with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) watchdog likely to downgrade forecasts for economic growth and the Bank of England warning that the inflation threat has not disappeared.

Source: Read Full Article