The ONS figures for employment and the labour market
Encouraging signs The average weekly wage in the U.K has gone up by 1.3% and is now around £451
For those on minimum wage this may be significant
As the Welfare Spending was announced the media featured the following-
Budget 2014: Welfare spending cap set at £119.5bn in 2015-16
The welfare cap is expected to include spending on housing benefit
UK spending on welfare is to be capped at £119.5bn for 2015-2016, Chancellor George Osborne has announced.
The basic state pension and some unemployment benefits will be excluded from the cap.
The limit on total welfare spending will be set by the chancellor at the beginning of each parliament.
If the limit is breached, the chancellor will have to explain why, and a vote would be held in Parliament.
"Britain should always be proud of having a welfare system that helps those most in need," Mr Osborne said.
"But never again should we allow its costs to spiral out of control and its incentives to become so distorted that it pays not to work."
Pension credits, severe disablement allowance, incapacity benefits, child benefit, maternity and paternity pay and universal credit will all be within the scope of the cap.
( those on Universal Credit will include those on Working Family Tax Credit)
( those on Universal Credit will include those on Working Family Tax Credit)
Housing benefit, apart from the benefit linked to Jobseeker's allowance, will also be capped.
The cap will include spending on the Employment and Support allowance, but not spending on Jobseeker's allowance.Though Universal Credit is now replacing benefits
The £119.5bn cap will rise, in line with forecast inflation, to £126.7bn in 2018-19.
"In future, any government that wants to spend more on benefits will have to be honest with the public about the costs, need the approval of Parliament, and will be held to account by this permanent cap on welfare," Mr Osborne added.
Labour has already said it will introduce a three-year cap on welfare spending if elected in 2015.
The conservative View
The conservative View
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