What will the welfare cuts mean for the UK?

0:02Hi, it's Rachel Abbott. Welcome back to The Standard Podcast. If you're new here, hit follow and give us a rating. Coming up, the London Standard's Josh Barry visits the Novelty Automation Museum in Hoburn. Probably my favourite is the petal dinner game where you put in a coin and it decides randomly whether the little lamb at the top of the game becomes a family pet or is served as a delicious looking Sunday lunch.

0:33But first, Sir Keir Starmer faces mounting pressure from his own MPs as the UK government prepares sweeping changes to the welfare system this week. On Tuesday, the Work and Pension Secretary, Liz Kendall, is expected to set out plans for reform in what they say is an effort to get more people back to work and cut Britain's benefits bill. It's been described by ministers as unsustainable, but reports that this could include cuts to the personal independence payment, the main disability benefit, also known as PIP, have sparked outcry from backbench Labour MPs. The news comes as we approach the UK Chancellor's spring statement on the 26th of March, where Rachel Reeves is expected to announce cuts to the welfare budget.

1:19Joining us now is the London Standards' chief political correspondent, Rachel Burford. Rachel, why is welfare being targeted? Why do the government believe these costs need to be reined in? So we've had a lot of ministers out in the last few days talking about the cost of Britain's benefit bill, essentially. They're all, the frontbenchers, Labour frontbenchers, are all saying that reform is really necessary because the number of people claiming sickness and disability benefit has really soared over the last few years. It's gone from 2.8 million in 2019 to about 4 million people today. And that means the benefits bill has risen significantly.

1:58In 2023, 2024, it reached 48 billion pounds and it's forecast to continue rising. It'll reach about 67 billion pounds in 2029, 2030. And just to put that into context, that is an amount that would exceed the current schools budget, for example. So what the Prime Minister and the Chancellor are saying is that this is unsustainable and something needs to change. And what about personal independence payment then? It's been sort of speculated that personal independence payments or PIP will be firmly in the government's targets when it comes to reducing the benefits bill. PIP is an interesting one.

2:43Basically, it's for people with long-term physical or mental health conditions or disabilities. It's a payment that helps these people that may struggle to do certain everyday tasks because of their condition. It's not means tested. And it is a payment that many people in work do get as well. So it is one that the government are really looking at. There's been speculation that it won't rise with inflation and that the eligibility criteria will really be tightened so fewer people can claim this benefit. And what has the reaction been like to this news? There has obviously, there's been a lot of discontent from people who claim PIP and also from a lot of Labour MPs who say it's not really very Labour to be cutting the money from disabled people.

3:35However, what government is arguing is that there are just so many people now claiming PIP and the country can't afford it. while, you know, some people are arguing, well, it's not actually that easy to claim, you know, you have to fill in lots of forms, there is a very strict eligibility criteria already. As of October 2024, there were 3.6 million people in England and Wales with entitlements to PIP, and that's a 3 % increase from July. So, you know, the number of people claiming it is going up steadily, and therefore so is the cost. As you say, the growth in claims has gone up. I noticed that there had been a rise in mental health support.

4:10Could this be due to there being less stigma around mental health conditions? Yeah, I think there has been over the last few years, particularly since COVID, less stigma in people seeking support for their mental health. But also, you know, the NHS is already stretched with huge waiting lists for all sorts of conditions. And mental health is certainly one of those. There has been a lot of pressure on the NHS over the rise in mental health concerns and people seeking mental health support. Some MPs have been out today talking about the increase in people seeking mental health support and particularly younger people.

4:47Diane Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stone Newton was on the radio this morning saying that previously there used to be a direct route from school to employment. And that doesn't exist in the same way anymore. So if you don't get a degree, you don't go to university. And even some people that do find themselves without jobs or without jobs that they perhaps want to do. And that has led to an increase in people suffering from depression, from mental illness, because they find themselves stuck in a system where they can't work and have no choice but to claim benefits. Now, what the government is saying is, well, if you can work, you should work.

5:23But also what is being argued is that there needs to be those jobs available for people at the same time. On Sunday, the health secretary West Streeting was unable to say whether the government would actually freeze Pip. Do you think the backlash will have an impact on what happens next? There is this idea that it may be scaled back. The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Emma Reynolds, was on the radio this morning saying that some colleagues are jumping to conclusions about the plans before they've actually heard them. We will find out the details tomorrow, but what the government is insisting is that the severely disabled and the most vulnerable will always get the support they need, and there will always be a safety net.

6:02So while we do expect some benefit payments to be scaled back, there definitely is likely to be a tightening of eligibility. But I think the government is insisting that there will still be a safety net and we will find out all those details tomorrow. And finally, would you be able to explain the suggestion that the reforms include a right to try guarantee? That would mean that disabled people could enter employment without the risk of losing their benefits if it didn't work out. The suggestion is that there are some people, particularly with mental health needs, that have been ruled that they can't work, would actually be happier if they were in work.

6:44So if they went out and got a job that was right for them, and it was working out, they would actually be happier and that they would eventually come off their disability benefits. but what stops a lot of people doing that is if they do go out and get a job and it doesn't work out for them they lose their right to benefits and they have to go through the whole rigmarole and system again so there is a suggestion that that will be reformed and there will be this idea that you can go out, try a job and hopefully that will work out for you and then they'll gradually take you off your benefits rather than just having it cut and having to restart the process all over again if it doesn't work out Let's go to the ads coming up in part two the latest instalment of London's Hidden Gems at Hoban's Automation Museum.

7:28We'll see you back here in just a moment. Please do drop us a follow and a rating in the meantime.

7:40Welcome back.

7:45For this week's edition of the London Standard's Hidden Gems, food and drink writer Josh Barry popped down to the Novelty Automation Museum in Hoburn. Tucked away just five minutes from the underground, the museum holds a selection of satirical arcade games to play. To tell us everything, Josh joins us now. Josh, tell us about the Novelty Automation Museum. What's the history behind it? Novelty Automation, it's a little museum in Hoburn, opened by an inventor called Tim Hunkin. opened in February 2015 and followed a similar place in Suffolk in Southwold. And that's where hunking comes from. You say in your article, some may find it on the dark side.

8:28Why? Very irreverent and silly and slapdash and haphazard. It's sort of doing away with the modern commercialisation and big tech, you know, and how we're all sort of slaves to the housing letter. Well, not everyone's a slave to the housing letter, but, you know, that sort of thing. and just endless tube rides, phones, AI, the internet. It digs at modern life and then the kind of darkness comes around in that sense quite broadly, but also some of the games, some of the automated machines or whatever, which themselves sort of rely on technology that might be 30 or 40 years old. So they're all quite sort of basic or simple as, you know, compared to what we see now.

9:08But the themes are also sometimes of a dark side. So for example, one of them is called The Divorce. You have to crank and spin a wheel and you watch against your respective other or a friend or whatever. And then you see a husband and wife split up and their house is cut into two. And the winner is the one who keeps more of the objects within that house. So are these the type of machines we'd see by the seaside then? How do they work? Looking in the pictures in your piece, they do look like a lot of fun. A lot of cranks, a lot of wheels. I think they're kind of quite similar to machines you see by the sea.

9:41But more often than not, these days, I see machines that are, you put a two-pence coin in or whatever, just like the place run by Nessa on Gavin and Stacey. These are a little bit simpler. There aren't many flashing lights. They're not as new. But they've got, basically, you go up to, there's a man in novelty automation, or at least there has been when I've been, and you give him a fiver and then he gives you a few tokens and they operate that way. The kind of mechanics of the machines are cranks, pulleys, levers, buttons, very basic. I'm sure the technology used in these machines was around, you know, maybe 100 years ago, maybe longer.

10:18And why was it picked for this week's Hidden Gems? I think it's because it's something a little bit different. I think a lot of people probably wouldn't have heard of it. It's small, it's tucked away down the back street in Holborn, which is quite a transitory area of part of London. You know, most people skim through it, you know, on their way between maybe the Soho and the city. Obviously, there's the Friars Delight nearby, which is quite famous. But basically, you wouldn't walk past novelty automation out of happenstance. You'd need to know it's there. You mentioned the divorcing couple game, but what is some of your highlights?

10:50My least favourite of all of them. I didn't try all the games, obviously. There are loads. But I tried Barry's Love Line, which I didn't like at all. I found that quite upsetting because it's a phone and you put a token in and it's supposed to give you romantic advice, but actually just sort of shakes and flashes reds and it's not for me. But I liked the tube game, which is all about eye contact and the tube. Obviously one of the most repulsive things you can experience on public transport. And then there's probably my favourite is the pet or dinner game where you put in a coin and it decides randomly whether the little lamb at the top of the game becomes a family pet or is served as a delicious looking Sunday lunch.

11:31Do they have a steady audience? Well, it's been going for a decade now, which is impressive for anything. When I went in, it was kind of towards the end of the day. And there are a few other people about. It's pretty niche. I don't think it's ever going to become one of the most popular hotspots in London. But I certainly think it's got the legs to carry on into the future. And perhaps as modern technology continues to expand and become even more important to how we live today, maybe looking back with some cynicism will be more pertinent than ever.

12:10That's The Standard. For all the latest news, head to standard.co.uk. If you'd like to get in touch with us, please do email at podcasts at standard.co.uk. This podcast returns tomorrow at 4pm. We'll see you then.

12:30Thank you.