Tories set out £36bn welfare cuts in push for savings 

The Conservatives have published a plan to cut the welfare bill by more than £36bn a year as the party pledged to find spending reductions in order to support the public finances.  The opposition party has published a 50-page document detailing its welfare savings plans, expanding on previous commitments that would see disability spending and other benefits offered to families radically cut back. Shadow work and pension secretary Helen Whately said the benefits bill was “out of control” as she said “hard graft” by Tory researchers showed the party was prepared to get the welfare bill down. A large chunk of the savings would come from reforming disability and sickness benefits, which includes ending claims for “mild mental health conditions . Welfare cuts for migrants and people with mild disabilities The Conservatives’ document said it forecast cuts to spending from not offering the “standard rates of personal independence payments for milder mental health issues an