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| Social recovery 'matching economy', Iain Duncan Smith to say. | Social recovery 'matching economy', Iain Duncan Smith to say. |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The government is matching economic recovery with social recovery, Iain Duncan Smith is due to say in a speech. | The government is matching economic recovery with social recovery, Iain Duncan Smith is due to say in a speech. |
| Changes to the benefits system have had a key role in getting people back into work and ending the culture of welfare dependency, the work and pensions secretary will say. | |
| It comes as centre-right think tank Policy Exchange says the benefit cap should be lowered for people living outside London and the South East. | |
| Labour says the reforms are "in chaos". | |
| Culture change | Culture change |
| Mr Duncan Smith is expected to say that the policies of the last Labour government led to whole sections of society being left on the sidelines and communities marked by widespread unemployment. | |
| "The number of households where nobody had ever worked doubled - and the welfare bill rose by twice as much as average earnings," he will say. | "The number of households where nobody had ever worked doubled - and the welfare bill rose by twice as much as average earnings," he will say. |
| "More than half of the rise in employment that we saw was accounted for by foreign nationals. And not just in London - three-quarters of Eastern European migrants in employment live outside London. | "More than half of the rise in employment that we saw was accounted for by foreign nationals. And not just in London - three-quarters of Eastern European migrants in employment live outside London. |
| "Immigration into the UK has been a supply and demand issue. Businesses needed the labour and because of the way our benefit system was constructed, too few of the economically inactive took the jobs on offer." | "Immigration into the UK has been a supply and demand issue. Businesses needed the labour and because of the way our benefit system was constructed, too few of the economically inactive took the jobs on offer." |
| Mr Duncan Smith will also say in his speech that when the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats took office in a coalition government in 2010, almost five million people were on out-of-work benefits. | Mr Duncan Smith will also say in his speech that when the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats took office in a coalition government in 2010, almost five million people were on out-of-work benefits. |
| "It was clear to me that in large part this situation was the product of a dysfunctional welfare system that often trapped those it was supposed to help in cycles of worklessness and dependency. | "It was clear to me that in large part this situation was the product of a dysfunctional welfare system that often trapped those it was supposed to help in cycles of worklessness and dependency. |
| "My one aim as work and pensions secretary has been to change this culture - and everything we have done, every programme we have introduced, has been about supporting everyone who is able to into work." | "My one aim as work and pensions secretary has been to change this culture - and everything we have done, every programme we have introduced, has been about supporting everyone who is able to into work." |
| Reform 'chaos' | Reform 'chaos' |
| Mr Duncan Smith says the scale of change instigated by the government has been "enormous" and the policies being delivered were changing the country "for the better". | |
| It is "fixing society at the same time as the economy, matching a firm economic settlement to a firm social settlement, and in so doing putting this country on a path to a more productive, more dynamic, and ultimately a more contented, future," he will say. | |
| But Rachel Reeves, Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary, said: "David Cameron's government has failed to control social security spending and is set to overspend on welfare by a staggering £13bn. | |
| "Under Iain Duncan Smith housing benefit spending is rising, not falling. | "Under Iain Duncan Smith housing benefit spending is rising, not falling. |
| "The number of working people claiming housing benefit is set to double between 2010 - 2018 costing every British household £488. | "The number of working people claiming housing benefit is set to double between 2010 - 2018 costing every British household £488. |
| "The government's flagship welfare reforms are in chaos. Millions of taxpayers money has been wasted on the £12.8bn Universal Credit which less than 7,000 people are claiming." | "The government's flagship welfare reforms are in chaos. Millions of taxpayers money has been wasted on the £12.8bn Universal Credit which less than 7,000 people are claiming." |
| Cuts proposed | Cuts proposed |
| Meanwhile, the Policy Exchange has written a report suggesting a reduction of the current benefit cap of £26,000 a year by 10% for people living outside London and the South East, to reflect different income and housing costs across the UK. | Meanwhile, the Policy Exchange has written a report suggesting a reduction of the current benefit cap of £26,000 a year by 10% for people living outside London and the South East, to reflect different income and housing costs across the UK. |
| It also estimates that £1bn could be saved by paying child benefit for only four children and progressively reducing payments after the first child. | It also estimates that £1bn could be saved by paying child benefit for only four children and progressively reducing payments after the first child. |
| Chancellor George Osborne has suggested that annual welfare savings of £12bn need to be found to avoid further cuts to departmental budgets. | Chancellor George Osborne has suggested that annual welfare savings of £12bn need to be found to avoid further cuts to departmental budgets. |
| A spokeswoman for the work and pensions secretary denied he was considering the options set out in the Policy Exchange report. |