Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

PM Andy Burnham Announces Welfare Cuts, Work-Conditional Benefits

7/28/2026

36 6 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Prime Minister Andy Burnham will announce welfare reforms on Tuesday to cut the welfare bill and make some benefits conditional on work.
Burnham warned that Personal Independence Payment claimants have risen above four million and spending could top £41 billion by decade’s end.
He said welfare could be tied to training or voluntary work for the one million NEETs.

History

Historical Context

Since the Welfare Reform Act 2012, championed by Chancellor George Osborne, the UK shifted benefits toward work, introducing Universal Credit and the 1 April 2013 “under-occupancy” penalty that officials said would curb dependency. The Department for Work and Pensions recorded £159 billion in welfare spending in 2011-12 (22.8% of government outlay). Andy Burnham’s current work-first proposal follows this decade-long trend.

1 of 2

Story summary

Prime Minister Andy Burnham will announce welfare reforms on Tuesday to cut the welfare bill and make some benefits conditional on work.
Burnham warned that Personal Independence Payment claimants have risen above four million and spending could top £41 billion by decade’s end.
He said welfare could be tied to training or voluntary work for the one million NEETs.

1 / 2