The chancellor says the welfare system "needs reform", as more than 40 MPs have written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urging him to pause and reassess planned cuts to disability benefits. Rachel Reeves adds, "the current levels of people going onto these benefits is not sustainable". Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00Nobody believes that the current welfare system left by the Tories is working.
00:06It's not working for people who are receiving those benefits because they're often trapped
00:10on benefits, not able to get back into work.
00:12It's not working for taxpayers because the cost is going up by tens of billions of pounds
00:17over just the next few years.
00:19And it's not working for our economy because we've got more and more people trapped on
00:23benefits, not being able to contribute, and so that's why we are putting a huge investment
00:28into supporting people to get into work to fulfil their potential.
00:33We want to lift people out of poverty, help people realise their potential with targeted,
00:38guaranteed support to get people into work.
00:40That is the priority of this government, so everybody has a chance to have a job that pays
00:45a decent wage wherever they live in Britain.
00:48Welfare spending will continue to increase under this government, but the current levels
00:55of people going on to these benefits is not sustainable and it's not working for anybody.
01:02Because people who are disabled, the vast majority of them want to work, but they're not getting
01:06the targeted, tailored and guaranteed support that they want and they deserve.
01:10They will get that under this government.
01:12We will support people to fulfil their potential, not leave them languishing on benefits, which
01:18is what the previous Conservative government did.
01:20That's not what we will do, we will step up, help people to fulfil their potential.
01:25We do need to reform how the welfare system works if we're going to grow our economy, but
01:29crucially if we're going to lift people out of poverty and give more people the chance
01:33to fulfil their potential, the focus has got to be on supporting people into work.
01:38Of course if you can't work, the welfare state must always be there for you, and with this
01:42government it will be.
01:43But there are many people that are trapped on benefits, that are desperate to work, but
01:47have been cut out of opportunity for too long.
01:50That will change under this government.
01:52Thank you very much.
02:06Okay.
02:08Now, look guys.