Welfare reforms: Iain Duncan Smith insists changes are about fairness, not punishment

Iain Duncan Smith has defended the UK Government’s controversial welfare reform plans, arguing they are not designed to “punish” as he issued a last ditch-appeal to peers and bishops not to block his proposals.

The Work and Pensions Secretary admitted that peers may want to “vent” their feelings over a planned £26,000-a-year benefit cap, the equivalent of £35,000 before tax.

“I simply make the point to them that the purpose of this is not to punish people but it is to give fairness to people who are paying tax, who are commuting large distances because they can only afford to live in the houses that they have chosen,” he said.

“It is also about fairness to those who are on these benefits; it is not fair to trap somebody in an expensive house which they cannot afford then to go to work on the back of, because they would lose their housing benefit if they went to work - so they are disincentivised from going to work.

“This is a ridiculous system that we have inherited.”

Ministers are bracing themselves for a bruising clash with the House of Lords over the planned reforms.