07-05-2025
Looming benefits cuts to universal credit and PIP 'to have disastrous consequences'
Campaigners warn MPs that Labour's welfare reforms will 'take safety away' from people who are already struggling to survive.
Protesters demonstrate in Westminster against cuts to the welfare state (In Pictures via Getty)
The government's welfare cuts will have "disastrous consequences" for disabled people but it's not too late to change course, campaigners have told MPs.
In March, the chancellor Rachel Reeves set out £5bn of benefits cuts to widespread criticism.
More than three million people, largely those claiming sickness and disability benefits, are set to lose out on up to £12,000 a year.
That includes some 370,000 disabled people who will lose an average of £4,500 a year by 2029/30, as a result of the changes. Another 2.25 million current recipients of the health component of universal credit will lose an average of £500 per year from the incoming freeze.
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On Wednesday, experts from charities and campaign groups including Scope and Disabled People Against Cuts told MPs that the plans will "take safety away from people" who are already struggling to survive on their current benefits package.
They said proposals to slash benefits were worsening "a real lack of trust" in the welfare system among disabled people, who go through "traumatic" assessment process and are made to "feel like second class citizens" when they are unable to work due to their disability.
Instead, MPs were told that the government has missed an opportunity to focus on the "worryingly bad practice" seen in some extreme cases of benefits assessments. According to Jonathan Andrew, from the campaign group Rethink Mental Illness, assessors have previously asked suicidal people why they haven't made an attempt on their lives.
The department for work and pensions (DWP) has previously said that by rolling out the plans, it will incentivise more people to get back into work.
It has also promised to spend £1bn on "getting people back into work", as well as ensuring those with severe conditions are supported for life and never reassessed for their benefits. It will also scrap the work capability assessment for those applying for universal credit.
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MPs are expected to vote on the proposed welfare cuts after the government completes its consultation into some of the measures, which ends on 30 June.
'If there was a rise in asthma, you wouldn't take away inhalers'
James Taylor, the executive director of disability equality charity Scope, challenged the government's rationale that cutting benefits would incentivise more disabled people into work.
"It's bizarre thinking that removing money from people suddenly helps them find work," Taylor told the work and pensions committee on Wednesday.
"What we want to see is that financial support remain, investment in the SEN [Special Educational Needs system, apprenticeships, and disability employment schemes," he added.
On taking away benefits support for those under 22, Andrew said that "we need to address the underlying problem" that is leaving younger people in crisis and without the right support.
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Andrew warned against the rhetoric used to justify cutting support for people with mental illnesses.
"If there was a rise in asthma, you wouldn't take away people's inhalers," he told MPs.
Jonathan Andrew, from the campaign group Rethink Mental Illness, criticised the rhetoric used to justify cutting support for people with mental illnesses. (Parliament Live TV)
The charities cautioned that the world of work is not adequately set up to support disabled people, with more and more people being pushed into precarious work "with the least flexibility".
According to a survey carried out by Unison, 74% of disabled workers who requested reasonable adjustments had those requests rejected, deeply affecting their ability to carry out their work, Mikey Erhardt, campaigns and policy officer at Disability Rights UK, said.
"When you think about the precarious work that is growing more and more in this country, it is often physically and mentally intensive," Erhardt continued.
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"There's no quick fix for this. It is going to be very difficult to drastically improve the world of work for disabled people, and to mitigate the cuts. Precarious workplaces have the least flexibility, and the least union recognition. This green paper seems to indicate that if you can't work, you're a second-class citizen."
A 'shambolic' roll-out
The experts also took issue with the government making a second round of disability benefits cuts to meet targets set by OBR - the government's UK's independent fiscal watchdog.
In extreme cases, he said he thinks "these cuts are going to lead to deaths".
At least 69 suicides could have been linked to problems with benefit claims over the last six years, the National Audit Office reported in 2020.
"It's quite likely is the trajectory will get worse. there is no way of sugarcoating that," Erhardt added.
Mikey Erhardt, campaigns and policy officer at Disability Rights UK, said many people feel like if they can't work they are a second-class citizen.(Parliament Live TV)
Taylor said that most people the charity speak to "feel like they're being written off and punished" for claiming the support they need.
Life costs £1,010 more per year for the average disabled household, research carried by Scope has shown.
"The current benefits system is not fit for purpose, we've seen that time and time again. we know from disabled people there's a lack of trust and engagement from job centres. The system is focused on monitoring compliance rather than support," Taylor said.
"The fear with green paper is that safety is going to be taken away from people. It's hard to fathom that it could be a good thing for society," Ellen Clifford, a campaigner with Disabled People Against Cuts said.
The government has been approached for comment.
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