Andy Burnham defends Budget but gives no timetable for cutting welfare bill
Andy Burnham says the government is working flat out to cut the welfare bill but will not say when, after the Budget contained no welfare measures.
How it was covered
- Sky News carried 63% of the airtime and concentrated on PM's Budget defence and Ed Conway's living standards analysis.
- BBC One concentrated on PM's no-timetable welfare pledge and projected benefit spending.
- Channel 5, BBC News, BBC Two, Channel 4 and ITV: not found in tracked broadcasts.
- GB News: covered online, not found on air.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
Andy Burnham has said the government is working flat out to cut the welfare bill. Sky News reported that the Prime Minister made the commitment after criticism that the Chancellor's Budget failed to tackle rising welfare costs.
BBC News reported that Burnham would not say when the welfare bill would be reduced. It said no measures to tackle welfare costs were announced in yesterday's Budget.
On a visit to Rolls-Royce in Derby, Burnham said he wanted to get the welfare bill down as quickly as possible. BBC News reported that he said the next priority after the Budget was the publication of the long-awaited report by Alan Milburn, which he said was coming soon, and that the government wanted to help people off benefits and into work.
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said cutting the welfare bill was essential. BBC News reported that she said it could be done compassionately while protecting disabled and vulnerable people who cannot work.
BBC political editor Chris Mason said the welfare bill was projected to climb from about £330bn to about £430bn over six years, a rise of about £100bn. He said the total included universal credit, personal independence payments and the state pension, and that health-related welfare spending had risen significantly since the pandemic.
Sky News reported that Burnham defended the government's economic record. He said 70,000 smaller high street businesses had been lifted out of business rates and that growth forecasts had been upgraded.
Sky News's economics and data editor Ed Conway said OBR-based analysis showed real household disposable income growth this decade was on course to be the weakest on record. He said net energy bills this winter and spring would be similar to the height of the energy price shock because government support was smaller than the Truss-era guarantee.
Conway also said that if defence spending rose to 3% of GDP while health spending continued to grow, other departments would face real-terms cuts. He said restoring their budgets to flat real spending would cost £9bn, and doing that alongside the defence target would cost £28bn. The BBC said the Milburn report, due next month, was likely to be crucial in setting the government's next move on welfare.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 2 channels | ||
| Andy Burnham said the government was working hard to cut the benefits bill following criticism that the Budget had not tackled rising welfare costs. | ||
| Only on one channel | ||
| Burnham said 70,000 smaller high street businesses had been entirely removed from business rates. | Not reported by BBC One | |
| The Budget did not include any welfare measures. | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The government's spending watchdog warned of a grim outlook for UK living standards. | Not reported by BBC One | |
| The Prime Minister said publication of the long-awaited Milburn report was the next priority after the Budget. | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Welfare spending is forecast at £431bn in 2030-31. | Not reported by Sky News | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky News led its welfare coverage with the Prime Minister's defence of the Budget and his claim that the government was working flat out to cut benefits. It devoted substantial time to Ed Conway's data analysis on living standards, energy bills and spending pressures, while giving no space to the Milburn report, Kemi Badenoch or the projected welfare bill figures.
- “The Prime Minister says the government is working flat out to cut the benefits bill following criticism that his Chancellor's budget failed to tackle rising welfare costs.”
- “Well, we have done what we can do to support people.”
- “The British economy is defying the expectations of forecasters, so this year we will grow more strongly.”
BBC ONE West focused on the political pressure over welfare, leading with the Prime Minister's refusal to set a timetable for reducing the bill. It used Chris Mason's graphics to explain the projected rise in welfare spending and noted Kemi Badenoch's call for action. It also highlighted the forthcoming Milburn report as the next test for the government.
- “The prime minister says he is working flat out to cut the cost of the welfare bill But he won't say when that will be achieved”
- “Well, we want to get the welfare bill down as quickly as possible and we're working flat out to that end”
- “We've got to start somewhere”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 18:07 GMT
Kemi Badenoch, conservative leader
BBC News · Thu 29 Oct
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.