Kate Whannel
Political journalist
Media in Pennsylvania
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has criticized the way the Watchdog of the Budget Liability Office analyzed the impact of his advantages.
Presenting in a parliamentary committee, he said that the OBR, who monitors public spending plans, had assumed that “not one person” would change their behavior following the government’s proposals.
“I fight personally with this way of looking at it, because I think these measures will make a material difference,” said Sir Keir.
The Prime Minister hopes that his plans, in particular by making more difficult the complaint of disability payments, will save money and help put more people at work, but there is discomfort among his own deputies on the cuts.
Sir Keir was challenged by the plans during an appearance before the Parliament’s liaison committee, made up of higher deputies.
Debbie Abrahams, president of the Works and Pensions Committee, noted that an impact assessment produced by the government said that changes could push 250,000 people in poverty, while the charity of Joseph Rowntree Foundation has placed the figure at 400,000.
The Labor MP said that children growing up in poverty are more likely to fight to find work or employment later in life and asked the Prime Minister how he would guarantee that his approach sheltered the deep causes of poverty “rather than adding to them”.
In response, Sir Keir said: “On impact assessments, it is important to me that the capacity of any policy or legislation to change behavior is not a price.
“The OBR has not marked anything against any change here – the hypothesis is that no one changes their behavior.”
Last month, the OBR published its assessment of government spending plans and performance.
On the government’s plans to provide additional support for people with health problems to participate, the OBR said that it could increase employment, but the government had not yet provided enough details on the policy for its effectiveness.
On other parts of the policy, such as reducing eligibility for health and disability benefits, OBR said that it had not had enough time to develop an analysis of the labor market and that it would make a complete evaluation before its next forecasts.
Following the committee, conservative chief Kemi Badenoch said: “The Labor Party has literally adopted a law in October forcing the government to listen to the OBR … now they criticize it.
“Another Reeves gadget (Rachel) who shows that they don’t know what they are doing.”
