Kendall to add protections to welfare Bill amid backlash to cuts
The Work and Pensions Secretary will add 'non-negotiable' protections to the Welfare Reform Bill, amid a backlash against planned cuts to benefits.
The package of measures is aimed at reducing the number of working-age people on sickness benefits, and the Government hopes they can save £5 billion a year by the end of the decade.
The proposals include tightening of the eligibility criteria for personal independence payment (Pip), the main disability benefit in England, and cutting the sickness-related element of universal credit (UC).
Dozens of Labour MPs last month urged the Prime Minister to pause and reassess planned cuts, saying the proposals are 'impossible to support'.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall told the Guardian there will be extra protections added to the Bill when it is published next week.
She said: 'When we set out our reforms we promised to protect those most in need, particularly those who can never work.
'I know from my 15 years as a constituency MP how important this is. It is something I take seriously and will never compromise on.
'That is why we are putting additional protections on the face of the Bill to support the most vulnerable and help people affected by the changes.
'These protections will be written into law, a clear sign they are non-negotiable.'
A Government impact assessment published alongside the reforms warned some 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, across England, Scotland and Wales, could fall into relative poverty after housing costs as a result of the changes.
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