Young people with ADHD should be pushed towards work rather than abandoned to a life on benefits, Kemi Badenoch said today as she unveiled Conservative plans to slash £36billion from the welfare bill.
asserted
she → push → bill
The Tory leader highlighted how many people with physical and mental disabilities have overcome adversity through hard work as she warned the cost of the handout system is 'crushing our economy'.
asserted
cost → highlight → economy
In a major speech this morning, she pledged to axe sickness and disability benefits for low-level mental health conditions and back pain, taking 2.5 million people out of the system.
asserted
she → pledge → system
Mrs Badenoch acknowledged that there must be a safety net for those who 'genuinely cannot work'.
asserted
who → acknowledge → those
But she added: 'The reality is that millions of people can work and do contribute – to our economy, to their families, to their communities – even when they face serious challenges.
asserted
they → add → challenges
Double amputees run marathons.
asserted
amputees → run → marathons
People who are housebound do wonderful creative work from home.
asserted
who → do → home
People with autism run some of the biggest tech companies in the world.
asserted
People → run → world
'If you tell a young person that their ADHD means they are defective and they can't do anything, that is likely to be more destructive to their future than the condition itself.
asserted
that → tell → condition
'Yet that is what our welfare system is currently doing.
asserted
system → do → what
We are going to change that.'
asserted
We → go → that
The Tory leader highlighted how many people with physical and mental disabilities have overcome adversity through hard work as she warned the cost of the handout system is 'crushing our economy'
Mrs Badenoch will publish a 52-page report setting out the case for reform and the details of the proposals.
asserted
Badenoch → highlight → proposals
Foreign nationals from outside the EU will also be barred from claiming benefits in this country.
And the two-child benefit cap scrapped by Labour will be reinstated, saving the taxpayer £3.1billion a year.
In her speech, the Tory leader highlighted the latest official figures showing that working age welfare now costs the country £180billion a year.
asserted
welfare → bar → 180billion
The figure equals around £500million a day and is more than the UK spends on defence, education and the police combined.
asserted
UK → equal → defence
The sum costs the average taxpayer more than £4,000 a year each and is more than the entire GDP of Ukraine.
asserted
sum → cost → Ukraine
'The weight of this welfare burden is crushing our economy and plunging us deeper and deeper into debt,' she said.
asserted
she → crush → debt
'There is no world in which the current system is sustainable and not just because of the cost.'
asserted
system → be → cost
Mrs Badenoch argued that the approach to welfare exposes a 'fundamental difference' between the Conservatives and Labour, who think that 'cutting welfare is always cruel' and that there's nothing wrong with a life of dependency,'
She contrasted the Tories' detailed work on welfare reform with the latest delays to Andy Burnham's ten-year plan for government, which he first promised in the summer.
'
asserted
he → argue → summer
It is too late to work out what you think once you're in government,' she said.
asserted
she → work → government
'If you want to change this country, you need to know exactly what you want to do and how you're going to do it.'
asserted
you → want → it
The new plan, titled Welfare that Works, sets out a string of proposals for curbing the runaway welfare budget.
asserted
that → title → budget
Other measures include trimming £4.5billion from the housing benefit bill which is forecast to hit £42billion by the end of the parliament – a £10billion increase in five years.
asserted
which → include → years
In future, payments would be pegged to rents in the cheapest 10 per cent of the market, instead of the cheapest 30 per cent.
asserted
payments → peg → market
The plans also involve a back-to-work programme, including lifting the cap on apprenticeships and halving employers' National Insurance payments for workers aged under 25.
asserted
plans → involve → 25
The Tory document acknowledges that the party's reforms will be 'fiercely resisted', saying that welfare reform is 'not easy'.
asserted
reform → acknowledge → ?
But it argues that reform can no longer be ducked.
asserted
reform → argue → ?
Shadow welfare secretary Helen Whately said the bill was running 'out of control', adding: 'Beveridge's welfare state was a noble ambition.
asserted
state → say → control
To stand by those who could not stand on their own.
uncertain
who → stand → own
But today's system has grown far beyond anything he envisaged.
asserted
he → grow → anything
A safety net designed for a country emerging from war now funds free cars for people claiming for acne and tennis elbow.'
asserted
net → design → acne
The government was forced to abandon plans to shave £5billion off the welfare bill last year following a revolt by Labour MPs.
asserted
government → force → MPs
The Prime Minister has said he is determined to rein in welfare spending 'in a Labour way', avoiding 'crude cuts'.
asserted
he → say → cuts
Reviews of youth unemployment and disability benefits are expected in the coming weeks.
asserted
Reviews → expect → weeks
But neither are likely to lead to short-term savings, with ministers admitting that Alan Milburn's plan to tackle the youth unemployment crisis is likely to carry substantial upfront costs.
asserted
plan → lead → costs
Chancellor John Healey has warned that the welfare bill will not be cut before the election.
asserted
bill → warn → election
The Aporia
