Jenrick says Reform UK would only allow British nationals to claim benefits – UK politics live | Politics

Robert Jenrick, Reform UK’s Treasury spokersperson, is giving his speech now.

He has announced, or confirmed, three measures to cut welfare spending.

1) Restoring the two-child benefit cap

Until recently the party was saying it would restore the two-child benefit cap, but with an exception for families where both parents are British and working full time (a very small cohort). But Jenrick said the party would “restore the cap in full”.

At one point Nigel Farage said he would lift the two-child cap. But he quickly revised that, saying it would stay, with some exceptions. The lack of clarity has allowed the Tories to claim that Reform UK would increase welfare spending in this area.

2) Restricting access to health or disability benefits on supposed “spurious” grounds

Jenrick said:

The number claiming disability benefits for an attention disorder has more than doubled since Covid. We all know a significant number of these claims are spurious …

We will stop those with mild anxiety, depression, and similar conditions from claiming disability benefits and instead encourage them into the dignity of work.

He said the party would require people claiming benefits on the basis of a mental health condition to have a clinical diagnosis.

Campaigners do not accept that people receive health or disability benefits on spurious grounds; the application process for these benefits is quite rigorous, and fraud levels for these benefits tend to be very low.

3) Restricting benefits to British nations

Jenrick said:

We’ll make sure only British nationals can claim benefits in the first place

4) Restricting access to the Motability scheme

Motability is a scheme that allows people eligible for benefit payments to help them with travel to use the money to get a car.

Jenrick said:

We will end the abuse of the Motability scheme, where expensive cars are handed out for conditions like tennis elbow, and paid for by working people who can’t afford them themselves.

We will end the abuse of the Motability scheme, where expensive cars are handed out for conditions like tennis elbow, and paid for by working people who can’t afford them themselves.

In fact, no one gets a Motability car just for tennis elbow. But some claimaints do disclose multiple conditions in the forms they fill in when they apply for the relevant benefit.