Chancellor John Healey has said there will be a reduction in the welfare bill before the next election, with a "tough" approach to young people who do not accept support to get a job or training, according to a Guardian report on the chancellor's comments.

The Guardian reported that the comments came as a fiscal watchdog said disability benefits will cost £100bn a year before the end of the decade. The report, written by Rowena Mason, the paper's Whitehall editor, also said the chancellor was repeatedly pressed on the issue.

BBC News reported that the Conservatives criticised the chancellor for not providing more details on welfare reform in his Budget. The BBC News article on the pledge is the second report in this account, and it frames the opposition's criticism as the central point of its coverage.

The two accounts agree that the chancellor made a pledge to reduce the welfare bill before the next election. The Guardian's summary frames the pledge around the approach to young people, while the BBC News summary focuses on the Conservative response and the lack of detail in the Budget.

The summaries available for both reports do not set out the specific changes the chancellor has in mind, the size of any planned reduction, or a timetable for carrying them out. Neither summary describes how the government would define young people who do not accept support, and neither gives a response from the chancellor's office.

Sources: BBC News: Healey promises reduction in welfare bill before next election; The Guardian: Healey vows to cut welfare bill before next election with ‘tough’ approach to young people.