Liz Kendall begins her statement by saying the government is ambitious for "our people and our country" and believes unleashing the talents of the British people is the key to success.

But the social security system inherited from the Conservatives is failing the very people it is supposed to help and holding people back, she says.

One in 10 people of working age are now claiming a sickness or disability benefit, almost one million young people are not in education, employment or training, and the number of people claiming Pip is set to double this decade, she says.

Millions of people who could work are trapped on benefits, she tells the Commons, saying they're denied the income, hope, dignity and self-respect "that we know good work brings".

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Often ministerial statements in the House of Commons are fairly sparsely attended. For this, the chamber is crowded.

And a cabinet minister making a policy announcement might usually expect to have a few junior colleagues join them on the frontbench.

Liz Kendall is flanked right now by Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner, the prime minister and the deputy prime minister.

This choreography matters: it is a visible reminder that this is a massively significant moment for the government, and that what Kendall is about to announce bears the imprint of the prime minister as well as her.

Chris Mason
Political editor

Hello from the press gallery of the House of Commons.

The prime minister has just arrived, as has the deputy prime minister, the chancellor, the health secretary and the work and pensions secretar y— here goes with her statement.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is about to announce plans to cut the nation's benefits bill and reform the welfare system.

We'll be bringing you live coverage of the statement in the Commons, as well as analysis and reaction, and you can follow along by hitting watch live at the top of the page.

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

There has definitely been a crisis in mental ill health. It has risen around the world, particularly for young people and especially, though not exclusively, because of the pandemic.

In the UK, that has also led to rising levels of work inactivity and that’s really quite a UK phenomenon which suggests there may be something wrong in the system.

At the same time the government is trying to save money, several billion pounds, because next week there’s a forecast from the official forecaster, and the £10bn room for manoeuvre against hitting the chancellor’s self-set debt target is going to be missed.

So the question is about this balancing act. Is it really a reform? Is it actually a cost-saving exercise? Is it a bit of both? The devil here really will be in the details.

Is the UK employment rate an outlier?published at 12:23 Greenwich Mean Time

12:23 GMT

By Anthony Reuben

Government minister Pat McFadden told the BBC this morning: “We are the only G7 country that doesn’t have the same proportion or a higher proportion of the working age population in work compared to pre-pandemic.”

The government is talking about this figure because it thinks that welfare reform could be used to get people who are not working because of sickness, back to work.

The claim about the employment rate is nearly right, according to a comparison of the figure, externals for October to December last year from the OECD. Canada had previously beaten it’s pre-pandemic rate, although it has now fallen below it.

People of working age who are not working and not looking for work are referred to as economically inactive. You can read more about who they are here.

We've been talking a lot today about Personal Independence Payment (Pip), the main disability benefit.

The eligibility criteria is set to be tightened significantly in Liz Kendall's upcoming announcement, so here's a look at who is currently eligible:

• A person can claim Pip if they find it difficult to do everyday tasks or get around because of disability or a long-term physical or mental health condition
• They must have experienced these difficulties for three months before claiming and must expect them to continue for at least nine months after claiming
• There are two parts to Pip: a daily living component, for those who have difficulty with everyday tasks, and a mobility part, which applies to people who struggle with getting around
• A person can be awarded one or both parts, depending on how their condition or disability affects them. This is assessed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
• A person can receive Pip at the same time as all other benefits, except the Armed Forces Independent Payment, external. A person with a job and savings can also receive the benefit

Kevin Peachey
Cost of living correspondent

While this announcement arrows in on certain benefits, claimants’ wider finances will always be crucial.

Take energy bills, for example. People with disabilities tend to have higher energy costs - such as the need to charge mobility aids or to keep homes warm. People struggling to leave their home for mental health reasons may need the heating on for longer.

Those prices have been going up again, although they’re not as high as their peak.

So, with finances already tight, some will be concerned that benefit reforms may squeeze them further.

James Kelly
UGC journalist

Kirsten from the Isle of Wight has a rare immune disease called sarcoidosis in several organs including her heart and lungs which flares frequently and causes inflammation and scarring that can interfere with organ function.

She says she has been ill for 10 years.

“I don’t know what the next hour is going to be like, let alone tomorrow, as I suddenly can need to sleep 18 hours a day, have disabling fatigue, breath-taking arrhythmias, violent cough, brain fog," she says.

“Whatever changes are coming, people with chronic diseases and conditions where physical and mental stress makes us sicker and can worsen our health and our disability need to be protected.

"Rare diseases are often forgotten in policymaking."

Tom Espiner
Business reporter

The government "faces an acute set of pressures on the public finances" according to Ben Zaranko, an associate director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank.

He says:

• The UK economy "is more or less flatlining"
• The government is borrowing more than anticipated back in October at the time of the Budget
• Interest rates and the costs of paying government debt remain high
• There's pressure to increase defence spending

"The Ministry of Defence is not the only department asking for more cash, and June's Spending Review, at which multi-year budgets for departments will be agreed, is likely to be a tense affair," he says.

He says that taxes "are already heading to historic highs", and the government has "extremely limited ability to borrow more" while staying within self-imposed fiscal rules.

To stay within those rules, the government might need to announce further tax rises or spending cuts, Zaranko says.

"It then becomes a political choice about which taxes to increase, which budgets to cut - or whether the fiscal rules themselves should be revisited to allow for even more borrowing, at the risk of pushing up interest rates and the debt interest bill," he adds.

Can significant savings be made?published at 11:51 Greenwich Mean Time

11:51 GMT

By Ben Chu

Many experts, such as the Resolution Foundation think tank and the Institute for Employment Studies, external agree that more working-age people should be helped and encouraged into work, and that there is a case for reform of the working-age welfare system.

But some argue that making sustainable, long-term savings requires upfront government investment in employment support programmes - schemes which aim to help people overcome barriers to getting into work.

Analysts also warn that reducing spending on the welfare bill has been historically difficult.

• How big is the welfare budget and where might cuts fall?

Jayne McCormack
NI political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Northern Ireland has more people receiving Pip than anywhere else in the UK.

The most recent figures, from November 2024, suggest just under 218,000 people in Northern Ireland were receiving the payment - almost half of those were aged 55 or older.

Legal responsibility for social security is almost entirely devolved to Stormont so local ministers have the powers to make their own rules on Pip or any other part of the welfare system.

Previous changes that have been imposed by Westminster governments have been opposed by Stormont parties, but finding extra finances within the Stormont budget to mitigate cuts has not always been easy.

If Stormont ministers want to introduce further mitigations for changes to Pip they would have to find the money by making savings elsewhere or raising more revenue.

In recent months we've heard call after call from local ministers saying their budgets are already too tight for the next financial year, and the Labour government is unlikely to step in to help out Stormont over other parts of the UK also demanding the same thing.

James Kelly
UGC journalist

Steven Bazga is a retired Royal Mail postman from South Lanarkshire who now has a rare back condition and is in constant chronic pain. He says he is “terrified” of the prospect of changes to disability benefits.

Steven, who says he has had severe back pain for over 13 years because of a rare condition called spinal epidural lipomatosis, tells the BBC that the Royal Mail ultimately retired him on ill health.

"I now am classified as disabled and receive ADP [Adult Disability Benefit] and LCWRA [Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity]," he says. "I cannot walk without crutches now and I’m in constant severe chronic pain.”

“I basically cannot even do chores in the house as the pain is to much. I am terrified that my LCWRA will be cut, as this is money that I really need. This is not a lifestyle choice. I loved my job.”

Tom Espiner
Business reporter

Trying to save money on sickness and disabilities payments is quite a controversial move - Chancellor Rachel Reeves saw a push-back on an earlier idea to freeze Personal Independence Payments, and some Labour politicians are still not comfortable with the revised plans.

Some people who receive the benefits have said they are anxious about the changes.

So why do it?

Put simply, the government is trying to save money - and it says it wants to get more people into work to boost the economy.

Last October, the government's official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility, indicated Chancellor Rachel Reeves had £9.9bn available to spend against her self-imposed borrowing rules.

But that relatively slim buffer is likely to disappear due to higher borrowing costs in the UK, inflation pressures, and global factors such as US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs.

The government has also made big spending commitments, including on defence and infrastructure.

Reeves wants to get debt falling as a share of the economy during the course of this Parliament, and to only borrow to fund investment, not to cover day-to-day spending.

We've just had confirmation from the House of Commons that, as expected, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall will be making a statement on welfare reform today.

She's due to speak at around 12:30 GMT, and you'll be able to follow live updates and analysis here.

Craig Beaumont from the Federation of Small Businesses tells the BBC there is untapped talent in the country that could be realised with the right welfare reforms.

Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, he's asked about situations where people on welfare are scared to look for work for fear of losing their benefits.

"There is such untapped demand, this is fantastic talent we have in our country that we're not using, and that's a scandal in itself," Beaumont says.

He adds: "We should find ways to support people into work. We know that work creates happiness, creates self-worth, you can see it in the stats. It is the silver bullet."

But he also warns that "cutting benefits doesn't create work", and says the support for people to find work is the "missing piece" he wants to see in proposals brought forward by the government later today.

Kevin Peachey
Cost of living correspondent

The assessment process for the Personal Independence Payment (Pip) has long been a source of contention.

Today it looks as though it might be central to reforms, so that debate isn’t going to go away.

Many claimants say it can be demeaning and the most vulnerable can end up being thrown by what they are being asked to do.

Charities give various examples of where it has led to the wrong outcome, although these decisions can be challenged.

Those on the other side of the argument say that the rise in claims and payments is unsustainable and the assessment needs to be tightened up.

Cabinet minister Pat McFadden was speaking to BBC Breakfast earlier ahead of the upcoming announcement on welfare system changes.

Watch below as he outlines how the government is concerned about the human and financial cost of people being on long-term sickness benefits:

Image source, Supplied

Steve from South London tells Your Voice, Your BBC News he had to stop working after a car accident left him with chronic cervical spondylosis, which affects the health of bones and skin on the neck, and brain damage.

He misses working but says taking away his benefits wouldn't mean he was able to take up a job.

"In my situation, I get a lot of ignorant comments... Why don't I jump on a moped on Uber Eats? Everything you do normally...it hurts. If I stand up too long it hurts," he says.

"What am I supposed to do? Float?"

Steve receives universal credit, as well as incapacity benefits including Pip, but says it is hard to meet his energy bills and pay for food with the income he is on.

"My life is already at below minimal quality - that will reduce further and health will suffer first," he says.

Encouraging people on benefits to go back to work can feel like bullying, he says.

"When the government say 'encourage', the reality is 'threaten'," he says. "You're being threatened back to work."

Why is the welfare bill growing?published at 10:21 Greenwich Mean Time

10:21 GMT

By Ben Chu

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) cited rising numbers of people coming on to incapacity and disability benefits as driving its latest forecasts.

The forecaster is essentially assuming, external the trend of rising benefits claims in recent years will continue.

In the five years after 2009-2010, more people were coming off incapacity benefits than on.

But in recent years - and especially since the 2020-21 Covid pandemic - more people have been coming on to benefits than off them.

And the OBR forecast the share of the working-age population in receipt of an incapacity benefit would rise from 7% in 2024 to a record high of 7.9% in 2029.

The reasons for this are not totally clear.

• BBC Verify explores the possible reasons in more detail