By bizn_fun 
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Sir Mel said welfare savings could be delivered by reducing payments to those with “lower level mental health issues”, citing mild depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The Tories also want to review exemptions for the household benefit cap, limiting the VAT subsidy for Motability – which allows claimants to lease vehicles – and changing obligations for job-seekers.
He defended the party’s decision not to back a government attempt to cut nearly £5bn from the disability and health-related benefits bill.
Labour ministers, he added, had been “pulling a quick lever to make quick savings” whereas the Tories were interested in “fundamental reform”.
He also insisted the Tories’ policy of restricting foreign nationals’ access to disability and sickness benefits was backed by the public, adding that the Tories wanted British citizenship to “really mean something here”.
Those losing their benefits could try to find a better-paying job or work additional hours, he suggested, and would also “have an option to return to other parts of the world”.
Last year, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that total spending on health and disability benefits would rise from £64.7bn in 2023-24 to £100.7bn in 2029-30.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he would cut the UK’s aid budget from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% in 2027 in order to pay for an increase in defence spending.
The Conservatives say further reducing spending to 0.1% would save nearly £7bn.
Currently, a portion of the existing aid budget is used to pay for hotels to accommodate asylum seekers.