Welfare spending ‘numbing economic decline in struggling regions’, new report says

• Research by the Centre for Social Justice shows UK spending on welfare has exceeded infrastructure investment by £1.1 trillion over the past two decades.
• Between 2006/07 and 2024/25, £1.6 trillion was spent on working-age benefits, reversing historical trends where infrastructure received a larger share of GDP than welfare.
• The think tank stated that welfare has been used to numb economic decline in struggling regions across the North, Midlands, and South Wales rather than driving investment.
• Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated that the Government aims to reduce welfare costs by helping people into work, while ruling out crude benefit cuts.
• The Government outlined plans to boost growth through a 10-year infrastructure strategy, £120 billion in public investment, and system-wide welfare reforms.

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