Jean-André Prager

Jean-André Prager has been a Special Adviser for the Department for Work and Pensions to several Prime Ministers, and is a guest contributor to Policy Exchange

Labour’s Budget is a missed chance to solve Britain’s benefits problem

From our UK edition

'Fixing the Foundations' is the phrase the Labour government wants in your head after the Budget. But the thin gruel for dealing with the challenge presented by our ill-health and disability benefits system suggests those words don't count for much. Apart from the defence of the realm, there is nothing more foundational to society than the way it treats its most vulnerable and most disadvantaged. Some people are, through no fault of their own, not able to work. Its the duty of the government to ensure that a safety net is in place to help these people; it must balance this by ensuring that the system is fair to the taxpayer. But conspicuous by its absence in the Budget were any proper measures for assessing Britain's mounting benefits bill.