Torsten Bell admitted he ‘absolutely could not’ live on £70 a week as he was asked by BBC Newsnight host Victoria Derbyshire why the Government was asking young people to get by on this sum
Torsten Bell quizzed on welfare reforms by Derbyshire
A squirming DWP minister has admitted he could not live on £70 a week as he was challenged over controversial benefit cuts.
Torsten Bell was pressed about the impact on young people as he tried to defend the Government shake-up which has sparked a furious backlash. Mr Bell said he could not get by on the sum because of his mortgage in an awkward exchange with BBC Newsnight host Victoria Derbyshire.
Mr Bell had a dig at colleagues who criticised the measures, saying claims for disability benefits were growing faster than “actual disabilities”. Economist Mr Bell, the Government’s Pensions Minister, insisted that people with “significant disabilities” will still be protected under the new measures.
He said they would continue to be supported by the Universal Credit system and will be able to apply for Personal Independence Payments (PIP). But he said the Government is “not going to write off 21 year olds as unable to work”.
Ms Derbyshire challenged him: “For those who can’t, they’ll be living on about £70 a week. Could you live on £70 a week?” Mr Bell responded: “Absolutely not.” The BBC host then asked: “So why do you expect young people to?”
READ MORE: DWP benefit cuts unveiled – with major changes to PIP
The minister stumbled on: “We won’t. We provide housing benefit as well and we’ll provide personal independence payments.” Ms Derbyshire pressed him: “This is cash in their pocket. This is £70 cash a week.”
Mr Bell said: “So are the things I just mentioned to you, that’s how the benefit system works. If people need help with their rent, they receive that as well… “
Ms Derbyshire said: “To buy food, to pay bills, £70 a week. You’ve just told me you couldn’t live on that.” The minister said: “Well no, I have a mortgage to pay because the current situation.
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“But what I’m saying to you is if the current system is a disaster for those young people and you know, it’s all well and good for you don’t like every aspect of these changes. But what you are defending is a Tory system…
“I sat in the chamber today and heard people say, I’m worried about this aspect of the change, but there’s not enough focus on the disaster that is happening in our country today. We are seeing much faster growth in claims for disability benefits than we are seeing actual levels of disability particularly for young people.”
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall confirmed an overhaul of PIP and Universal Credit as she warned the social security system is “failing the very people it is supposed to help and holding our country back”. But she faced an immediate backlash over the plans, which were branded “cruel cuts” by disability charities. Work and Pensions Committee chair Debbie Abrahams said: “There are alternative, more compassionate ways to balance the books, rather than on the back of disabled people.”
In a Commons statement setting out the plans, Ms Kendall said millions of people were trapped on benefits and denied the dignity that good work can bring. Flanked by Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner, she promised to create “a more proactive, pro-work system for those who can work, and to be protected for those who cannot work now and for the long term”. She said the system will be there “for people in genuine need… that is a principle we will never compromise on”.
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