Commitments include to ensure benefits 'remain a safety net not a lifestyle choice', and introducing a 'triple lock plus' to ensure that state pension is never taxed
The Conservative Party has today launched its manifesto ahead of the General Election on 4 July 2024.
Welfare rights and access to justice commitments contained in Clear Plan, Bold Action, Secure Future include to -
- Address the unsustainable rise in benefit claims for people of working age with a disability or health condition by -
- reforming disability benefits so they are better targeted and reflect people’s genuine needs, while delivering a stepchange in mental health provision including increasing the planned expansion of NHS Talking Therapies by 50 per cent, and boosting the capacity of Individual Placement and Support for Severe Mental Illness by 140,000 places;
- tightening up how the benefits system assesses capability for work; and
- overhauling the fit note process so that people are not being signed off sick as a default.
- Ensure being on benefits remains a safety net, not a lifestyle choice by -
- introducing tougher sanctions rules so people who refuse to take up suitable jobs after 12 months on benefits can have their cases closed and their benefits removed entirely;
- accelerating the rollout of universal credit to ensure it always pays to work; and
- continuing to clamp down on fraudsters.
- Introduce the new Triple Lock Plus that will ensure state pension is never taxed by guaranteeing that both the state pension and the tax free allowance for pensioners always rise with the highest of inflation, earnings or 2.5 per cent.
- Move to a household system for the high income child benefit charge, so families don’t start losing benefit until their combined income reaches £120,000.
- Reform the Child Maintenance Service to prevent noncompliance and introduce new laws to help crack down on non-payment.
For more information, see Clear Plan, Bold Action, Secure Future from conservatives.com
See also the Conservative Party's commitments in relation to: Housing; Employment; and Community Care.
NB - manifestos from the range of main parties include: Conservative: Clear Plan, Bold Action, Secure Future | Green: Real hope, real change | Labour: Change | Liberal Democrat: For a Fair Deal | Scotland: Alba: Yes to Scottish Independence | Scottish Conservative and Unionist: Focused on your priorities | Scottish Labour: Our National Recovery Plan | Scottish National Party: A future made in Scotland | Wales: Plaid Cymru: For fairness, for ambition, for Wales | Welsh Labour: Change | Northern Ireland: Alliance: Leading Change | Democratic Unionist Party: Making Northern Ireland Work | Sinn Fein: Strong Leadership, Positive Change | Social Democratic and Labour Party: An Election for Change
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