Why is the UK spending more on sickness benefits than defence? 🤔

The UK is spending more on “financially unsustainable” sickness benefits than defence, and “urgent” reform to the welfare system is needed to rein in costs, a group of Lords has said. In a letter to the work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, the cross-party Lords Economic Affairs committee said the current benefits system penalises people looking for work and tackling the spiralling costs of welfare payments should be a “top priority” for the government. Spending on sickness and disability benefits has grown to almost £65bn after rising by more than 40 per cent in real terms since 2013, with around 3.7m working-age adults receiving support. This is 20 per cent higher than the defence budget of £53.9bn in 2023-24, with ministers set to spend almost £57bn on the UK’s defence budget this financial year, and rising to just under £60bn in 2025-26, the group told Kendall. #news #politics #health #healthcare #welfare #defence #defencenews #uknews #ukpolitics #economy #economics #ukeconomy