Truss in retreat: Social care cap faces delay, schools overhaul is ditched to dodge grammars row, and union crackdown goes as Jeremy Hunt is warned he must make ‘even tougher’ cuts to balance the books
- PM set to delay or abandon further parts of Tories’ agenda in bid to save herself
- Liz Truss poised to put back social care reforms and shelve schools legislation
- She has also limited scope of planned crackdown on strikes by trade unions
Liz Truss is set to delay or abandon further parts of the Tories’ agenda on social care, schools and trade union laws as she seeks to salvage her crisis-stricken premiership.
The Prime Minister, who has already junked most of her tax cut pledges and refused to rule out ditching the pensions triple lock, is poised to tear up further promises.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has warned of decisions of ‘eye-watering difficulty’ as he seeks to balance public finances in the wake of the mini-Budget meltdown.
He is said to be eyeing a one-year delay to ex-PM Boris Johnson’s flagship social care reforms in a bid to save money.
It comes as Mr Hunt was warned the spending cuts he needs to make will be ‘more difficult’ than those overseen by former Chancellor George Osborne during the austerity period of the 2010s.
Along with a delay to social care reforms, No10 will also reportedly abandon Mr Johnson’s planned schools legislation in order to avoid a row over grammar schools.
And Government sources confirmed plans to put new legal curbs on strikes by teachers, doctors, nurses and firefighters had been shelved.
The Prime Minister, who has already junked most of her tax cut pledges and refused to rule out ditching the pensions triple lock, is poised to tear up further promises
Under Boris Johnson’s social care plans, which had been due to be introduced next October, there was to be a £86,000 cap on the cost of care over a person’s lifetime
The PM will also reportedly abandon Mr Johnson’s schools Bill before it comes before the House of Commons
Under Mr Johnson’s social care plans, which had been due to be introduced next October, there was to be a £86,000 cap on the cost of care over a person’s lifetime.
Meanwhile, anyone with assets of less than £20,000 will not have to make any contribution to their care from savings or the value of their home.
And those with assets of between £20,000 and £100,000 will be eligible for some means-tested support.
Ms Truss scrapped the rise in national insurance contributions that Mr Johnson had introduced to fund the social care reforms – but the PM has previously committed to keeping the changes and said she would fund them through other means.
But, according to The Times, Mr Hunt is ready to delay the introduction of the reforms by 12 months, with an estimated initial saving of £1billion.
Those in favour of reform expressed fears that a delay could be a prelude to a dropping of the reforms entirely by the former health secretary.
The newspaper also reported that Ms Truss will abandon Mr Johnson’s schools Bill before it comes before the Commons.
Her predecessor had lined up the legislation to support more schools becoming part of academy trusts, introduce a national funding formula, and give Ofsted more powers.
Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservatives’ 1922 committee, had been eyeing the Bill as a means of pushing through an amendment to overturn the 24-year-old ban on new grammar schools.
Although Ms Truss has herself backed the creation of new grammars, she is unlikely to want a political row over the issue as she battles to save her political future.
Downing Street has also now limited the scope of new laws on strike action by trade unions.
Earlier this month, it was claimed the PM was ready to extend draft legislation – aimed at preventing widespread strike chaos on transport networks – to across the public sector.
This was due to place new legal curbs on strikes by teachers, doctors, nurses and firefighters to ensure minimum service levels are maintained during industrial disputes.
But a source told MailOnline that No10 had decided to once again limit the scope of the legislation to only transport strikes.
Downing Street did not dispute the social care reforms could be delayed and the schools Bill would be shelved.
As Mr Hunt pores through the public finances in an attempt to find savings, the Institute for Fiscal Studies estimated the Chancellor would need to find £23billion from cuts, after £32billion worth of tax U-turns and a £7billion reduction in the cost of Government borrowing.
Ben Zaranko, senior research economist at the think-tank, said Mr Hunt’s task was likely to be ‘harder’ than the cuts made by Mr Osborne in 2010 as they would come off the back of years of pressure on Whitehall budgets.
He said: ‘Making slightly smaller cuts in this environment is more difficult than making slightly bigger cuts in the 2010s.
‘Services are already struggling, there is more pressure from an ageing population and imposing cuts at the moment… is difficult compared to imposing cuts after ten years of rapid increase in budgets.’
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