‘No return to Tory austerity’ pledge
Welfare fraudsters will be dealt with faster under new legislation expected to save the taxpayer £1.6 billion over the next five years, Mr Starmer is set to announce.
The PM will promise to “leave no stone unturned” as his Government seeks to “rebuild our public services”. Part of his speech will include a new Fraud, Error and Debt Bill to modernise the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), allowing it to recover money lost to fraud while protecting vulnerable claimants from mounting debts.
It will also contain powers to help officials keep up with more sophisticated fraud, as Labour said fraud and error in the social security system cost the country £10 billion a year.
Alongside the Bill, the Prime Minister is expected to announce plans for wider welfare reform to help get people back into work, with details to be unveiled later this year.
He is expected to say: “We will get the welfare bill down, because we will tackle long-term sickness and get people back to work. We will make every penny work for you because we will root out waste and go after tax avoiders.
“There will be no stone left unturned, no innovation ignored and no return to Tory austerity.
“We will rebuild our public services, protect working people and do this in a Labour way. That is a promise.”
