Treasury minister Darren Jones has apologised for comparing benefits for disabled people to “pocket money”. Jones, who is deputy to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, was defending welfare cuts on the BBC’s Politics Live after Wednesday’s Spring Statement when he made the gaffe. Government analysis suggests more than 3 million families will on average be £1,720 a...
The Social Security benefits of millions of people in the United States are at risk as the Trump administration institutes drastic changes billed as “anti-fraud” measures, but which critics say are aimed at weakening the popular program and potentially laying the groundwork to privatize it. The Social Security Administration has already shuttered dozens of offices...
Brian Wheeler Political reporter Reuters Rachel Reeves has squeezed the welfare budget further and boosted defence spending in a Spring Statement aimed at kick-starting the faltering economy. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) – the government’s financial watchdog – halved its growth forecast for this year to 1%. The chancellor blamed global instability, arguing that...