The foreign secretary travelled on the hired Embraer Lineage 1000 for a five-day visit to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia last week
The Tories have been slammed for their rank hypocrisy, after former Prime Minister David Cameron hired a £42 million private jet to travel around Asia, costing the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds, while the government prepare to slash benefits for people suffering from depression or anxiety.
The foreign secretary travelled on the hired Embraer Lineage 1000 for a five-day visit to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia last week, the Mirror reported.
The shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry, posted on X: “I get that David Cameron may need to charter a plane when travelling to multiple countries in one week, but that does not justify spending hundreds of thousands of pounds at taxpayers’ expense to hire one of the most luxurious private jets on the market.”
The taxpayer is footing the bill for the private jet at the same time as the Tories cut benefit payments for those with disabilities and physical and mental health conditions.
The motion expresses ‘incredulity’ that the government hasn’t assessed correlations between the two-child limit and child poverty levels
A motion signed by 24 MPs has called on the two-child limit to be reconsidered while expressing disbelief that the government has not assessed the correlation between child poverty and the Tories benefit cap as new research came to light.
Tabled by Labour MP Mary Kelly Foy, the Early Day Motion highlighted research from the End Child Poverty Coalition which revealed how some of the most vulnerable families are those hardest hit by the two-child limit.
Introduced in April 2017 by the Tories supposedly as an incentive to get parents into work, the policy prevents households from claiming universal credit or child tax credit for a third or subsequent child.
Concerns were raised by the government’s own Work and Pensions Committee in 2019 which recommended that the policy be abandoned, warning that the limit would increase the number of children in poverty and disproportionately affect minority groups.
At eternity’s gate by Vincent Van Gogh portreys depression. Copyright expired.
PEOPLE suffering from depression or anxiety could lose access to sickness benefits as part of the government’s major welfare reforms, the Work and Pensions Secretary said today.
Mel Stride announced plans to overhaul disability benefits in a statement to the Commons, with proposals aimed at providing “more tailored support in line with their needs.”
In a green paper published alongside Mr Stride’s statement, ministers set out plans to reform personal independence payments (PIP), the main disability benefit, through changes to eligibility criteria and assessments.
The proposals follow Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement of major changes to the welfare system earlier this month, saying that “people with less severe mental health conditions should be expected to engage with the world of work.”
Tom Marsland, policy manager at the national disability charity Sense, said recent government narrative around disability benefits has been “divisive and deeply damaging.”
EIGHT million people are at risk of ill-health caused by substandard housing that is putting “enormous strain” on an overstretched NHS, a coalition of charities warned today.
Nine charities are backing a national Safe Homes Now campaign, demanding an end to the “scandal” of 3.7 million “dangerous” homes “that pose significant risk to inhabitants’ health” in both the private rented and owner-occupied sectors.
The charities said the “hidden housing crisis” included shocking conditions such as rat infestation, damp, leaks and mould on children’s bedding.
They said that grant support for home repairs has been slashed by more than £2 billion over the past decade, preventing the repair of 600,000 homes.
And they highlighted that 2.2 million owner-occupied homes were now defined as “unsafe” — double the number in the private rented sector.
A survey by campaign founder the Centre for Better Ageing revealed increasing problems with heating costs and home maintenance bills.
The nine charities, including St John Ambulance, Race Equality Foundation and children’s charity Barnardo’s, are calling for a “national strategy to tackle the poor quality of the country’s homes” that includes halving the number of unsafe homes within the next decade to improve the nation’s health.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak giving his speech in central London on welfare reform, April 19, 2024
PM announces major plans to impose curbs on benefits
RISHI SUNAK was accused of launching a “full-on assault” on disabled people today after he announced major plans to impose fresh curbs on benefits.
The Prime Minister said an expected rise in benefits spending is “not sustainable” and vowed to “significantly reform” the system.
He announced a new consultation on personal independent payment (PIP), a non means-tested benefit that helps with extra costs caused by long-term disability or ill health.
Citing an increasing number of people are claiming PIP for anxiety and depression, Mr Sunak said a more “rigorous” approach will be introduced, and that “greater medical evidence” will be required to substantiate a claim.
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He pledged to “tighten” the work capability assessment so that “hundreds of thousands of benefit recipients with less severe conditions will now be expected to engage in the world of work.”
James Taylor of disability charity Scope said the plan “feels like a full-on assault on disabled people.”
He said: “These proposals are dangerous and risk leaving disabled people destitute.
“In a cost-of-living crisis, looking to slash disabled people’s income by hitting PIP is a horrific proposal.”
Disability Rights UK’s head of policy Fazilet Hadi accused the government of “targeting disabled people for a failing economy.”
She said: “The Prime Minister’s approach to systemic inequalities caused by government policies and underfunding of public services, is to further penalise, punish and threaten disabled people living on inadequate benefits.”
Dr Sarah Hughes, CEO of Mind, said: “We are deeply disappointed that the Prime Minister’s speech today continues a trend in recent rhetoric which conjures up the image of a “mental health culture” that has “gone too far”.
“This is harmful, inaccurate and contrary to the reality for people up and down the country. The truth is that mental health services are at breaking point following years of under investment with many people getting increasingly unwell while they wait to receive support.”
She added: “To imply that it is easy both to be signed-off work and then to access benefits is deeply damaging. It is insulting to the 1.9 million people on a waiting list to get mental health support, and to the GPs whose expert judgement is being called into question.”
Labour MP John Trickett offered an alternative solution: “Sunak would stop doctors from issuing ‘sick notes’ in effort to force ill people back to work. I have a 3-part proposal: 1) fully finance the NHS & cut waiting lists 2) an all-out drive to end poverty which is at the root of so much ill health 3) force bosses to pay living wage”.
