Mel Stride voiced concern about Labour's approach towards the two-child benefit cap ahead of the budget. This comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves has pledged to 'grip the cost of living' in her Budget next week. In an example of one move aiming to ease the pressure on people’s finances, rail fares are to be frozen for the first time in 30 years.
00:00What does this government do? It's got the TIMS review into personal independence payments and it's made it very clear in the terms of reference for that review that they will stick to the OBR's numbers. In other words, they will accept that welfare will continue to go up. It's not fair that very hardworking taxpayers who get up early in the morning, go out and work, do the right thing, end up paying for these additional benefits, which are actually themselves a drag on the economy.
00:25Well, it's always worth remembering that most people who claim benefits are in households who work. That's a big part of the debate here. But the OBR, the Office for Budget Responsibilities, the Independent Forecaster, they're also, like you, going to have a very busy few days. Mael Stroud, thanks very much indeed for coming in to speak to us.
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