Pensioners and benefit claimants are set to get a double boost in Wednesday’s autumn statement – but long-term patients will face tougher work assessments.
Treasury Secretary Jeremy Hunt is expected to leave the triple lock unchanged and raise interest rates in line with the highest rate of inflation.
In a major move, Hunt is set to raise interest rates by 6.7 per cent, in line with September’s inflation rate.
There was speculation that the Finance Minister would choose October’s inflation figure of 4.6 per cent instead, as it would have saved the government around £3 billion.
The state pension is also expected to increase by 8.5 per cent, in line with the usual earnings measure.
But Britons with mobility and mental health problems will be told their benefits could be cut by nearly £4,680 if they fail to look for jobs they can do from home.
It will apply to all new benefit claimants from 2025 and existing claimants will receive assurances that their right to benefits will not be reassessed if they look for a work-from-home job.
The decision is said to be based on evidence that more than half of those in the 2.4 million sick and disabled group who want to work do not do so because they are worried about being reassessed if it doesn’t work out.
The government says changes to the Work Capacity Assessment (WCA) reflect the modern world of work.
In a speech to an audience of local business and community leaders on Monday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the welfare system was not “sustainable”.
He said: “Our view on the welfare system is that it should be compassionate, it should be fair, it should be sustainable…
“With over two million working-age people currently out of work, it’s not a good situation. It’s not sustainable for the country, for the taxpayers. It’s not fair. But it’s also not compassionate to write people off.”