UK premier says working hard to cut welfare bill 'as soon as we possibly can'

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Thursday said that his government is working hard to cut the welfare bill "as soon as we possibly can," but did not give a timeline. "We want to get the welfare bill down as quickly as possible, and we're working flat out to that end," Burnham told reporters during his visit to the Rolls-Royce factory in Derby. His remarks came after he was asked about Chancellor John Healey's suggestion to the BBC that the benefits bill would be cut before the next election, which must be held by August 2029.

When Healey was asked by the Today Programme on Radio 4 whether there would be a cut in the bill before polling day, he said: "There will be, there will be a reduction in the benefits bill, we'll do that in a Labour way." Later, Burnham's office said it was "not setting an arbitrary target or timetable." "Now that we are through the Budget, the big next priority in front of us is the publication of the Milburn report, long awaited, but it's coming soon," said Burnham.

The interim report, Young People and Work, led by Alan Milburn, was published on May 28, 2026, with the final comprehensive recommendations report expected next month. The Young People and Work report is an independent review of the increase in the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training. Burnham added: "We just want to get stuck into supporting people to help people off benefits and into work. There's no delay there.

We want that to happen as quickly as possible." He went on to say that if the government just went and made crude cuts, those cuts would ultimately leave people in crisis, and "you spend more public money somewhere else, so it's about getting people into sustainable employment." Opposition parties raised concerns over the lack of details on welfare reform in Wednesday's Budget, after welfare spending was forecast to increase from £353 billion ($472 billion) this year to £431 billion ($576 billion) in 2031/32.