Andy Burnham’s deputy Louise Haigh refused to say when Labour will “get the welfare bill down” while adding the government would aim to “invest in success” when asked whether more taxes would cover increases in the benefits bill. 

Haigh, who is referred to as the Prime Minister’s “enforcer” and stood in for Deputy Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, batted away the Conservatives’ questions about the welfare bill. 

When asked by her opposite number Alex Burghart about whether she could rule out tax rises to cover a rise in working-age benefits spending, Haigh said: “We have been repeatedly clear that we cannot afford to pay for failure and must invest in success – and that is how we will bring the welfare bill down.

“We will make support more conditional on taking up opportunities, ensuring young people get help they need earlier, tackling the long-term drivers of welfare spending, including high housing costs, and we will do all this in a Labour way.”

Burghart accused the government of delaying reviews on welfare spending, including the Alan Milburn review on youth unemployment, as he pointed to official figures showing that the welfare bill would rise in each year of the parliament. Milburn is due to report on youth joblessness within weeks while the government will set out its full policy paper on welfare next year.

The Office for Budget Responsibility showed last week that total welfare spending would rise from around £334bn in 2025 to £413bn in 2030. The rise in expenditure is set to be largely driven by pensioner spending, with the triple lock on pensions driving up costs for taxpayers. 

The report showed that health and disability benefits for working age people could rise by a little less than £20bn while Universal Credit would jump by over £14bn. 

In parliament, Burghart said benefits spending totalled £183bn, which subtracts pensioner spending and adds up disability benefits with child benefits, Universal Credit and other spending. He pointed out that the sum was more than spending on defence, schools and policing combined. 

Burghart presses Haigh on welfare spending

Haigh accused the Tories of allowing the welfare bill to spike between 2010 and 2024 although she refused to set a date on when it would come down. John Healey came under scrutiny over comments suggesting that the welfare bill would come down before 2030. He clarified that spending would not fall before the next election. 

“It’s not correct to say that we’re going to bring this welfare bill down in this parliament because we’ve not set a timetable for that,” he told Channel 4 News. 

The government is also facing questions on whether it is aiming to bring the welfare bill down in absolute terms or as a proportion of current forecasts. 

Burghart said: “We all know what the Labour way is. The Labour way is more tax, more welfare and more borrowing.”