'A missed opportunity' - South Shropshire MP slams government's welfare reforms
Stuart Anderson MP has called the Government's welfare reforms a "missed opportunity" to deliver improved support for local communities like those in his South Shropshire constituency.
His intervention in Parliament on Tuesday (July 1) was part of a debate on the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill.
He told fellow MPs how his own lived experience of welfare support had shaped his views on reforms to the system.
Mr Anderson said that he had suffered from extreme mental health problems for 15 years following life-changing injuries that he sustained during his time in the Armed Forces.
He also revealed that he is being re-assessed for a scheme that compensates veterans for injuries that are caused or aggravated by their service.
In Parliament, Mr Anderson said: "I had support through what was a challenging time, and did everything I could to work my way out of that and get back on my own two feet.
"I firmly believe, as a Conservative, that there should be support for people when they need it because you never know what you're going to face. Welfare is not an option for people to take when they don't want to work. I've seen it many times: multi-generational unemployment where families create benefits as a career.
"The system needs to be there for people that do need it but at the moment there is a lot of people that don't need it in my firm view. A one per cent change to the whole of the welfare system or the whole social security system is not reform, and nobody can ever say it is.
"It's tinkering around the edges and a missed opportunity.”
More than 125 Labour MPs signed an amendment against the reforms. In a key concession, the Government has delayed planned changes to disability benefits until a review by Sir Stephen Timms has been concluded.
However, Mr Anderson has said that this concession is "like marking your own homework", as Sir Timms is the Minister for Social Security and Disability.
The MP has added that ministers should pause their plans and adopt a "multi-staged approach" that creates a welfare system that is affordable, sustainable, and gets people back into work wherever possible.
Mr Anderson has also said that Labour's controversial welfare plans only “tinker around the edges”. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts that welfare spending will be nearly £100 billion by 2030.
This means that around £1 in every £4 of income tax will be spent on health and disability benefits. It is equivalent to almost £1,500 per year per person across the UK and more than the entire defence budget.
