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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| This chart shows which benefits George Osborne might cut | This chart shows which benefits George Osborne might cut |
| (7 months later) | |
| The Conservatives want to make £12bn worth of welfare cuts, but where will they come from? | The Conservatives want to make £12bn worth of welfare cuts, but where will they come from? |
| Reports emerged last night that £5bn could come from tax credits. Let's look at why they might consider doing that. | Reports emerged last night that £5bn could come from tax credits. Let's look at why they might consider doing that. |
| The Chancellor has ruled out any cuts to pensioners or universal pensioner benefits like bus passes or TV licences. | The Chancellor has ruled out any cuts to pensioners or universal pensioner benefits like bus passes or TV licences. |
| These make up £95bn a year, or 40 per cent of the total welfare budget. | These make up £95bn a year, or 40 per cent of the total welfare budget. |
| The Institute for Fiscal Studies says about £1.5bn in cuts have been outlined in the manifesto. | |
| These include freezing working age benefits for two years, which save £1bn. | These include freezing working age benefits for two years, which save £1bn. |
| Other measures including reducing the benefit cap to £23,000 a year, which saves only £0.1bn, and removing housing benefit from young people, which saves the same small sum. | Other measures including reducing the benefit cap to £23,000 a year, which saves only £0.1bn, and removing housing benefit from young people, which saves the same small sum. |
| This means that £10.5bn have to come from what's left. Below is what's left for George Osborne to cut: | This means that £10.5bn have to come from what's left. Below is what's left for George Osborne to cut: |
| From this chart it should be clear the scale of the cuts being made. | From this chart it should be clear the scale of the cuts being made. |
| Totally abolishing all of Jobseekers' Allowance and Income Support wouldn't even cover half the cuts George Osborne wants to make to benefits. | Totally abolishing all of Jobseekers' Allowance and Income Support wouldn't even cover half the cuts George Osborne wants to make to benefits. |
| Totally scrapping child benefit would do it, just about. | Totally scrapping child benefit would do it, just about. |
| Housing benefit and child benefit have already been subject to restrictions in the previous parliament and further restrictions on housing benefit are already included in the roughly £1.5bn cuts in the Conservative manifesto. | Housing benefit and child benefit have already been subject to restrictions in the previous parliament and further restrictions on housing benefit are already included in the roughly £1.5bn cuts in the Conservative manifesto. |
| Disability benefits are in the middle of a transition to a new system which the Government will be keen to make sure goes as smoothly as possible. | Disability benefits are in the middle of a transition to a new system which the Government will be keen to make sure goes as smoothly as possible. |
| Tax credits are the biggest single lump. A government that made £13bn welfare cuts without touching tax credits would end up making even sharper cuts elsewhere. | Tax credits are the biggest single lump. A government that made £13bn welfare cuts without touching tax credits would end up making even sharper cuts elsewhere. |
| This isn't to say that such cuts are necessary: there are good arguments against George Osborne's overall spending plans. Even if you agreed with those, the same savings could be accomplished with tax rises of departmental cuts. | This isn't to say that such cuts are necessary: there are good arguments against George Osborne's overall spending plans. Even if you agreed with those, the same savings could be accomplished with tax rises of departmental cuts. |
| But with what the Conservatives have set out to do in mind, it's no surprise that ministers are considering tax credits for the axe. | But with what the Conservatives have set out to do in mind, it's no surprise that ministers are considering tax credits for the axe. |