Peers call on Labour to carry out ‘fundamental review’ amid rising concerns over retention of Tory plans for £3bn in cuts

Labour must carry out a root-and-branch overhaul of the UK’s incapacity benefits system if it is to rein in rising heath-related welfare spending, an influential cross-party Westminster committee has warned.

The House of Lords economic affairs committee – whose members include two former Treasury permanent secretaries and a former chancellor – said major reform was needed to address the rising social and fiscal costs of disability benefits.