Labour promises sweeping changes to DWP benefits (Image: GETTY)
The welfare budget must be put on a “more sustainable course,” said, warning that the country could not continue to bear the “costs of failure.”
The Work and Pensions Secretary will introduce changes in the spring, focusing on moving more people off welfare and into jobs.
The announcement comes as the welfare budget is projected to exceed the previous Government’s cap of £137.4 billion for 2024/25 by £8.6billion.
Ms Kendall blamed Conservative administrations for failing to control spending and for leaving record numbers of people out of work due to long-term health conditions.
Speaking to PA news agency, Ms Kendall said: “We’re going to get the benefits bill on a more sustainable course – and it has to be. We cannot accept these costs of failure, failure for individuals, failure for businesses and failure for the economy.
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The Government will introduce changes in the spring to move more people off welfare and into jobs (Image: GETTY)
“But the way to do this is to get more people into work through the reforms that we’re putting in place in our Jobcentres and through reform of the benefit system. And we’ll be bringing forward our green paper on reforming sickness and disability benefits in the spring.”
The Labour Government has made welfare reform a key priority, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves reinforcing the message in her economic growth speech on Wednesday.
Ms Reeves pledged “fundamental reform of our welfare system,” including addressing the rising cost of health and disability , which she argued had been ignored for too long.
Ms Kendall highlighted that high levels of economic inactivity due to health problems were damaging both individuals and the wider economy.
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The welfare budget has to be put on a ‘more sustainable course’, Liz Kendall said (Image: Getty)
She said: “This is our inheritance from the Conservative government. And the failed on welfare because they failed on work.
“We have got almost record numbers of people out of work due to long-term health problems. That’s terrible for them. It’s terrible for their living standards. It’s terrible for employers who want to recruit, and it’s terrible for the public finances.
“So we need big reforms in the way that we work to get more people into those jobs, which will help bring the benefits bill onto a more sustainable footing.”