Tax cuts 'funded by benefits curb'

RISHI Sunak yesterday stressed that tax cuts paid for by trimming the benefits budget through reforms would be about creating "fairness".

- Steph Spyro

The Prime Minister vowed to cut taxes before and after the general election, but he warned that action would be funded by curbs on benefits and on Government spending.

He claimed the changes to payouts were "about making sure that everybody who can work does work". The Tory leader added: "For everyone who is working hard, we reward that hard work with tax cuts, that is a Conservative approach. It is one that I think is right for our country."

During an interview yesterday, Mr Sunak said it was not only the welfare budget he was looking to control but public spending "across the board". He went on: "It is about discipline on public welfare.

It is about discipline on public sector pay." The Prime Minister said that he was concerned about the "very significant rise in the number of people who have been deemed unfit to work". He continued: "In the last decade, that system hasn't been reformed at all and you have seen the number of people who are signed off has tripled.

"Now do I think our country is three times sicker than it was a decade ago? The answer is No.

"The system is not working as it was designed to work and now we are bringing forward reforms that will mean that we look at the eligibility for who is signed off sick.