The UK Government “is choosing austerity over ambition”, Ceredigion Preseli’s MP has said as the Chancellor unveiled welfare cuts that will save £4.8bn.

In her Spring Statement on 26 March, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the Universal Credit standard allowance will increase from £92 per week in the financial year 2025/26 to £106 per week by 2029/30.

However, the Universal Credit health element will be "cut by 50 per cent and then frozen for new claimants".

The Government will also undertake a fundamental review of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment, with a new, additional eligibility requirement introduced in the meantime to ‘focus on those with higher needs.”

The Government will also take further steps to tackle fraud and error in the welfare system by increasing preventative checks in Universal Credit.

The Government said that the “broken welfare system” is “letting people down by asking them to prove what they can’t do, rather than focusing on what they could do with the right support - trapping people due to fear of trying work, lack of support and poor financial incentives.”

“Helping more people into work is a central aim of these reforms and which is why the government is tackling incentives to be inactive by abolishing the WCA, rebalancing Universal Credit, and investing more into employment support,” the government said.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) have set out their final assessment of costings and confirmed the measures will reduce welfare spending by £4.8 billion in 2029/30.

Ceredigion Preseli MP and Plaid Cymru Treasury spokesperson, Ben Lake said the UK Government is “choosing austerity over ambition, cuts over investment.”

“Instead of taxing the ultra-wealthy and closing tax loopholes, the Chancellor is targeting the vulnerable with deep cuts to welfare that will drive poverty and inequality in Wales,” Mr Lake said.

“For all the pain inflicted on communities there seems to be little economic gain: the OBR analysis suggests these measures will encourage lacklustre growth at best.

“If the Labour UK Government is serious about growth, it would reconsider its fiscal rules to reflect the changed economic and geopolitical reality facing the UK.

“Instead, it is making the poorest and the vulnerable pay the price. Plaid Cymru will oppose these harsh cuts and offer hope to the people of Wales.”

The Chancellor said the government's budget will move from a deficit of £36.1bn in 2025-26 and £13.4bn in 2026-27, to a surplus of £6bn in 2027-28, £7.1bn in 2028-29 and £9.9bn in 2029-30.

She told the House of Commons: "Households will be on average over £500 a year better off under this government."

The Chancellor also confirmed the government's pledge to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2027.

The Spring Statement also spelled out plans for a crackdown on tax evasion, including a rise in the penalties for late tax payment, and also announced a new Transformation Fund which will work on bringing forward £3.25bn of investment to “deliver the reforms that public services need.”