Ministers ‘pushed ahead too fast’ on welfare reform, says Phillipson

UK Government ministers “pushed ahead too fast” and “didn’t listen enough” on welfare reform, the Education Secretary has said.

Bridget Phillipson also said that future spending decisions had been made “harder”, when asked about the prospect of the two-child benefit cap being scrapped.

Ms Phillipson told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme that she was “not going to pretend that it hasn’t been a tough or a challenging week” after ministers were forced to scrap their plans for the personal independence payment (Pip) in the face of a backbench revolt.

“I’d be the first to acknowledge that, both in the pace and the nature of what we set out, we didn’t get it right, but we do need to reform the system we’ve got,” she said.

‘Pushed ahead’

Asked about the Prime Minister’s authority, the Education Secretary said: “What the Prime Minister has said, and what I also believe, is that what we set out, we pushed ahead too fast, we didn’t listen enough to people, including, I would say, including to lots of people who had concerns about the nature of that change.”

Ministers have warned MPs that there will be financial consequences to the decision not to reform Pip as planned.

Labour backbenchers have also been pushing for the Government to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

When asked if there was now less chance of the cap being scrapped given the costs that come with Tuesday’s decision, Ms Phillipson told the BBC that ministers were “looking at every lever and we’ll continue to look at every lever to lift children out of poverty”.

‘Future decisions’

Pushed on whether the likelihood of the cap going was now slimmer, Ms Phillipson said: “The decisions that have been taken in the last week do make decisions, future decisions harder.

“But all of that said, we will look at this collectively in terms of all of the ways that we can lift children out of poverty.”

Meanwhile, shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride had written to the budget watchdog asking whether a new updated fiscal forecast was in the works after Labour’s U-turns on welfare and winter fuel.

In his letter to the Office for Budget Responsibility, Sir Mel said: “The public, Parliament and markets deserve clarity and transparency about the impact of recent events on the nation’s finances and the Government’s fiscal strategy.”

The Conservatives will try to change the Government’s welfare Bill to tighten up access to Pip and universal credit by laying a series of amendments this week.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch will also pledge that the Tories are “now the only party committed to serious welfare reform” in a speech expected on Thursday.