Andy Burnham set for 'fight of his political life' over broken welfare system

Pat McFadden, the Work & Pensions Secretary, ordered reviews into "Young people & work", being undertaken by Alan Milburn, and Personal Independence Payment (PIP), being done by Stephen Timms.

Both are due to be published this autumn, though the Milburn report was due before the budget and has now been pushed back.

Talking to GB News Chief Political Correspondent, Fraser Nelson, who is leading The Times' campaign for welfare reform, said he hopes that: "Burnham is delaying the Milburn Review because he knows this is going to be the fight of his political life, and he wants to get everything right before he does it."

Over a million young people are now NEETS (not in education, employment or training), at a cost to the economy of £125billion a year.

Nelson says: "I would like to believe that he realises that this has been a multi-level disaster, and there is a pipeline right now of kids in the disability system heading for unemployment, and that pipeline needs to be dismantled and the kids need to be helped. I like to think that he wants to come at this in a way that's finally going to reform it."

Alan Milburn has already slammed the current welfare system as regards young people as "morally indefensible" and a "total state failure".

Nelson says: "I think Burnham at least realises the severity. I've asked Alan Milburn about this, saying that do you think Burnham is going to do this? And Alan Milburn, for what it's worth, told me that he's looked in the whites of Andy Burnham's eyes and says that he knows he's determined to do this. It's seared into his soul. This is about the Labour Party, the clues in the name."

Figures just released show that more 7 year olds are in receipt of disability benefits than 50 year olds, while motability vehicles are being given to people with tennis elbow (40 cases) and wheat intolerance (50 cases). 1 in 5 children starting secondary school in Liverpool are diagnosed with a disability.

A child with a diagnosis can bring their parents about £6 000 pa in child disability living allowance (DLA) and up to £4,500 in Carer’s Allowance.

For every £1 spent on helping people back to work, the government splurges £40 on welfare.

"The waste of money is staggering", Nelson says, citing an ADHD coach given £56 000 for a personal assistant.

Nelson speaks of a "welfare trap", where people are signed off then not reassessed, nor given help in getting them back to work. 1.8 million welfare claimants are overdue their sickness benefit reassessment, and many of them could be able to work again.

Nelson talks of Gavin, a taxi driver who struggled to get support when he had heart problems, but eventually was signed off sick. He is better and no longer needs the money, but is still getting it as he's been told it can't be stopped until he is reassessed. And he’s still waiting.

Gavin, Nelson says, "is a patriot who loves his country" and is trying to do the right thing, but computer says no.

He says: "This is why we’re in a situation where we need to import immigrants to fill holes in the labour market because we are heavily incentivising so many British people not to work.

"It’s an absolutely crazy way to run an economy."

Will Burnham grasp the nettle of welfare reform?

Nelson admits "it's possible that he just kicks the can down the road as his 4 or 5 predecessors have done."