The UK could be poised to cut billions of pounds from its welfare spend as the Treasury takes the view that there is less room for manoeuvre in the finances than hoped. Only last October, Chancellor Rachel Reeves believed she had almost £10 billion of so-called “fiscal headroom”, essentially a buffer in her budget if the economy changed. But things have changed very quickly for Reeves.
Welfare spending in the UK is around £50 billion a year – and predicted to rise to more than £75 billion by 2030. Regardless of other pressures, the government had already been expressing concern about the size of the bill, even attempting to make a “moral case” for ensuring people who can work are doing so.
