Liz Kendall says getting people into work is best way to cut benefits bill

Liz Kendall visiting a jobcentre in Tower Hamlets, east London, where she met benefits claimants and work coaches. Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian

The work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, has said helping more people back into a job is the best way to cut the benefits bill, as the chancellor looks for savings ahead of the 26 March spring statement.

With Rachel Reeves zeroing in on welfare as a source of potential cuts as she prepares to take action to meet her self-imposed fiscal rules, Kendall said the starting point must be getting people back into work – not numbers on a spreadsheet.