Reform UK Unveils £50bn Welfare Overhaul Plan

Reform UK Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick set out plans to scrap personal independence payments and overhaul disability and sickness benefits, claiming savings of £50 billion.

• 2.89 million claimants would see benefits modified or withdrawn under the plan.
• £22 billion of the projected savings would come from disability benefit changes alone.
• A new employer-paid insurance scheme would cover costs for the first two years of sick leave.
• 6.9 million people currently receive disability benefits, Jenrick said.

Why it matters: The welfare bill is forecast to reach £333 billion this year, and more than four million people currently claim disability benefits.

• Cash payments for lower-level conditions would end; council-run disability support accounts would fund equipment, transport, and personal assistance instead.
• Employers with more than five staff would be required to take out return-to-work insurance, offset by a 0.2 percentage point cut in National Insurance contributions.

How 4 sources split on this story

Where they split: The central dispute is whether £50 billion in savings is achievable or, as Labour and Conservatives both argue, an uncredible figure that shifts burdens onto disabled people and employers.

What’s next: The full 50-page document, titled Making Welfare Work, is set for Monday publication.

• Parliament's standards watchdog is set to reopen its inquiry into Farage over a £5 million donation.
• Independent costing of the £50 billion figure has not been published.
• How existing claimants with mental health conditions would be reassessed remains unspecified.
• Whether the Dutch 40% drop in disability applications cited by Jenrick is directly comparable to the UK system is not established by the sources.