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| Benefits rates may depend on where you live, No 10 suggests | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Benefits rates could vary according to where someone lives, under welfare changes David Cameron is considering. | |
| No 10 says the prime minister wants to look at whether it still "makes sense" to set payments at a national level, given differing regional pay levels. | |
| Although he dropped the idea from the final text of his speech on welfare, No 10 says it is among ideas which also includes cutting benefits over time. | |
| The PM said he wanted to debate the ideas for the next Tory manifesto. | |
| But he said he also hoped that his coalition government partners, the Lib Dems, might agree with some of the ideas so they could be brought in before the next election, which is due in 2015. | But he said he also hoped that his coalition government partners, the Lib Dems, might agree with some of the ideas so they could be brought in before the next election, which is due in 2015. |
| Mr Cameron's speech is being seen as an attempt to reconnect with disgruntled Tory backbenchers who have accused him of allowing the Liberal Democrats to water down traditional party values. | Mr Cameron's speech is being seen as an attempt to reconnect with disgruntled Tory backbenchers who have accused him of allowing the Liberal Democrats to water down traditional party values. |
| Other ideas raised included: | Other ideas raised included: |
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| Regional rates of benefits - which would presumably see people in more affluent regions getting higher payments than in poorer regions - would be likely to prove controversial. | Regional rates of benefits - which would presumably see people in more affluent regions getting higher payments than in poorer regions - would be likely to prove controversial. |
| No 10 stressed, an hour before Mr Cameron's speech, that no decision had been taken but the PM wanted to look at whether "it makes sense if you set all benefits at the national level or whether there should be some local or regional element". | No 10 stressed, an hour before Mr Cameron's speech, that no decision had been taken but the PM wanted to look at whether "it makes sense if you set all benefits at the national level or whether there should be some local or regional element". |
| 'Devastating impact' | 'Devastating impact' |
| After the idea was omitted from the delivered speech, No 10 told the BBC the idea had not been dropped and would be included in the debate the Conservatives hope to have on the future of the welfare state. | After the idea was omitted from the delivered speech, No 10 told the BBC the idea had not been dropped and would be included in the debate the Conservatives hope to have on the future of the welfare state. |
| In his speech in Kent Mr Cameron defended benefits for the elderly and disabled but said the system of working-age benefits had gone "truly awry" and created a "welfare gap between those living long-term in the welfare system and those outside it". | In his speech in Kent Mr Cameron defended benefits for the elderly and disabled but said the system of working-age benefits had gone "truly awry" and created a "welfare gap between those living long-term in the welfare system and those outside it". |
| David Cameron is not just calling for a minor tweak to the welfare state - he is opening the door to a re-casting of the entire welfare system and who it is meant to serve. | David Cameron is not just calling for a minor tweak to the welfare state - he is opening the door to a re-casting of the entire welfare system and who it is meant to serve. |
| "The time has come to go back to first principles," he says. | "The time has come to go back to first principles," he says. |
| If the welfare state is meant to be a safety net, he argues, then a lot of people are receiving benefits who are not in need, and therefore should not be receiving them. | If the welfare state is meant to be a safety net, he argues, then a lot of people are receiving benefits who are not in need, and therefore should not be receiving them. |
| Hence he raises the prospect of limits to the amount of support claimants should expect for larger families; curbs to the rights of young people to get help with their rent; and tougher requirements on those seeking work. | Hence he raises the prospect of limits to the amount of support claimants should expect for larger families; curbs to the rights of young people to get help with their rent; and tougher requirements on those seeking work. |
| It is a bold statement of intent that will reassure and please an unsettled Tory party, both inside and outside Parliament. | It is a bold statement of intent that will reassure and please an unsettled Tory party, both inside and outside Parliament. |
| But it carries with it a huge political danger? It risks undermining what was Mr Cameron core pitch to the electorate, namely that he was a different sort of Tory leader. | But it carries with it a huge political danger? It risks undermining what was Mr Cameron core pitch to the electorate, namely that he was a different sort of Tory leader. |
| His critics will seize on this - together with the apparent playing down of the green agenda and wobbles over gay marriage - as further evidence that Mr Cameron is turning his back on Compassionate Conservatism and returning to a much more traditional Tory agenda. | His critics will seize on this - together with the apparent playing down of the green agenda and wobbles over gay marriage - as further evidence that Mr Cameron is turning his back on Compassionate Conservatism and returning to a much more traditional Tory agenda. |
| "Those within it grow up with a series of expectations: you can have a home of your own, the state will support you whatever decisions you make, you will always be able to take out no matter what you put in. | "Those within it grow up with a series of expectations: you can have a home of your own, the state will support you whatever decisions you make, you will always be able to take out no matter what you put in. |
| "This has sent out some incredibly damaging signals. That it pays not to work. That you are owed something for nothing. It gave us millions of working-age people sitting at home on benefits even before the recession hit. It created a culture of entitlement. | "This has sent out some incredibly damaging signals. That it pays not to work. That you are owed something for nothing. It gave us millions of working-age people sitting at home on benefits even before the recession hit. It created a culture of entitlement. |
| "And it has led to huge resentment amongst those who pay into the system, because they feel that what they're having to work hard for, others are getting without having to put in the effort," he said. | "And it has led to huge resentment amongst those who pay into the system, because they feel that what they're having to work hard for, others are getting without having to put in the effort," he said. |
| He said the housing benefit system for people under 25 encouraged young people to "grab" their independence through the the benefit system rather than earn it. | He said the housing benefit system for people under 25 encouraged young people to "grab" their independence through the the benefit system rather than earn it. |
| "For literally millions, the passage to independence is several years living in their childhood bedroom as they save up to move out while for many others, it's a trip to the council where they can get housing benefit at 18 or 19 - even if they're not actively seeking work, " he argued. | "For literally millions, the passage to independence is several years living in their childhood bedroom as they save up to move out while for many others, it's a trip to the council where they can get housing benefit at 18 or 19 - even if they're not actively seeking work, " he argued. |
| He said it was necessary to look at the "interaction of the benefit system with the choices people make about having a family", arguing the welfare system encouraged working-age people to have children but not work, making taxpayers resentful. | He said it was necessary to look at the "interaction of the benefit system with the choices people make about having a family", arguing the welfare system encouraged working-age people to have children but not work, making taxpayers resentful. |
| He also suggested there could be a loosening of benefit conditions for those who have paid into the system through work but have lost their job, against those who have never worked. | He also suggested there could be a loosening of benefit conditions for those who have paid into the system through work but have lost their job, against those who have never worked. |
| Other questions Mr Cameron raised but did not address in detail were whether school leavers should be allowed to draw benefits, whether non-contributory benefits should be paid to those living abroad and if the majority of benefits should continue to be paid in cash rather than in kind. | Other questions Mr Cameron raised but did not address in detail were whether school leavers should be allowed to draw benefits, whether non-contributory benefits should be paid to those living abroad and if the majority of benefits should continue to be paid in cash rather than in kind. |
| His idea to scrap housing benefit for people aged under 25 would save almost £2bn a year, but housing charity Shelter fears the consequences of such a move. | His idea to scrap housing benefit for people aged under 25 would save almost £2bn a year, but housing charity Shelter fears the consequences of such a move. |
| Chief executive Campbell Robb said: "To take away housing benefit from hundreds of thousands of young people - particularly in the current economic environment where young people in particular are finding it very difficult to find jobs - would have a devastating impact on many people's lives. | Chief executive Campbell Robb said: "To take away housing benefit from hundreds of thousands of young people - particularly in the current economic environment where young people in particular are finding it very difficult to find jobs - would have a devastating impact on many people's lives. |
| "I think we would see many more people ending up homeless as a result of this kind of very significant change." | "I think we would see many more people ending up homeless as a result of this kind of very significant change." |
| Ahead of the speech Labour's Liam Byrne said the prime minister was "coming at it from the wrong approach for the long-term". | Ahead of the speech Labour's Liam Byrne said the prime minister was "coming at it from the wrong approach for the long-term". |
| "First we need stronger action to help people get back into work so Labour has said 'Let's put in place a jobs guarantee for young people'. We're starting a debate about how childcare and social care could actually help people work the hours that are on offer," he said. | "First we need stronger action to help people get back into work so Labour has said 'Let's put in place a jobs guarantee for young people'. We're starting a debate about how childcare and social care could actually help people work the hours that are on offer," he said. |
| In March, the government's Welfare Reform Act received Royal Assent. That act - which applies to England, Scotland and Wales - introduces an annual cap on benefits and overhauls many welfare payments. | In March, the government's Welfare Reform Act received Royal Assent. That act - which applies to England, Scotland and Wales - introduces an annual cap on benefits and overhauls many welfare payments. |
| Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander told BBC One's Sunday Politics show that Mr Cameron was free to set out his own thinking but that the coalition had already brought in radical welfare reform, which should be allowed to "bed-in" and warned against "repeating the mistakes of the 1980s". | Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander told BBC One's Sunday Politics show that Mr Cameron was free to set out his own thinking but that the coalition had already brought in radical welfare reform, which should be allowed to "bed-in" and warned against "repeating the mistakes of the 1980s". |
| Chancellor George Osborne indicated in his March Budget that the welfare bill should be cut by another £10bn between 2015 - the expected year of the next election - and 2017. That is on top of the £18bn of cuts during the current parliament. | Chancellor George Osborne indicated in his March Budget that the welfare bill should be cut by another £10bn between 2015 - the expected year of the next election - and 2017. That is on top of the £18bn of cuts during the current parliament. |
| Are you in receipt of benefits? Are you concerned about possible benefit changes? Please send us your comments using the form below. | Are you in receipt of benefits? Are you concerned about possible benefit changes? Please send us your comments using the form below. |