Benefits claimants to be banned from spending your money on alcohol under Tory plans
Benefits claimants will be banned from spending taxpayer cash on alcohol, gambling and cigarettes under plans unveiled by Kemi Badenoch.
Announcing the proposals, the Tory leader vowed to crack down on those who "exploit" Britain's generous benefits system.
Ms Badenoch's plans will see those who have been long-term unemployed have their benefits slashed by a third, with cash payments being swapped with “back-to-work cards”.
The pre-paid cards will block purchases on items such as scratch cards, cigarettes and alcohol.
Announcing the plans, the Tory leader warned that Britain's benefits system had become a "lifestyle choice" for those unwilling to work.
She said: “If you can work, you should work. Helping people into work is not punishment. The best welfare is a well-paid job.
“So, we will be tough on those who exploit the system because the current system is unfair to workers, taxpayers and those who truly need support.
“Welfare must be a safety net for those who genuinely need it, not a lifestyle choice for those who can’t be bothered.”
According to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), Britain's benefits bill is set to balloon to a staggering £407billion by 2030/31 - roughly 11 per cent of GDP.
However, Chancellor John Healey is set to swerve slashing welfare in next month's Budget, with working Britons readying up to be slapped with an even heavier tax burden.
The Tories have insisted their proposals would save around £504million per year, impacting around 1.2 million people on unemployment benefits.
Mrs Badenoch's plans will see Universal Credit split into the full-rate - currently handed to all claimants - and a "subsistence allowance”, which is just less than a third lower.
Those receiving the full rate will be allowed to receive the welfare payments in cash and will not be subject to the pre-paid cards.
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An unemployed person will be able to receive a a year of benefits at the full rate for every two years they have worked, while all fresh claimants will be handed the full allowance for the first six months before being assessed on how much they have contributed to the system.
The Tory reforms mirror food stamps used in the US - which block recipients from spending their welfare on booze, cigarettes or hot food.
Mrs Badenoch has also outlined plans to toughen up on those receiving sickness benefits, with “low-level” mental health claims to be blocked.
However, Labour has slammed proposals to ban unemployed Britons from spending their benefits on booze as "unworkable".
A spokesman for the party said: “The Conservatives had 14 years to fix our welfare system but they completely failed to make meaningful reforms.
“Now they are proposing an unworkable new card scheme, which does nothing to tackle the numbers of people their system left signed off and written off.”
Reform UK also attacked the plans, insisting they are not stringent enough and would pave the way to “let the permanently unemployed go on claiming forever”.
The party's Treasury spokesman, Robert Jenrick, said: “The Tories left more people on long-term benefits and benefit fraud at record levels.
"Now they offer a spending card that won’t even put a dent in the coming £400billion bill."
He added: "It’s a sticking plaster on a wound they opened."
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