Millions of disabled benefit claimants have found out how their entitlements will be changing from next year following Labour’s long-anticipated decision to slash £5 billion from the welfare spending bill.
Revealing the reforms, work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said the current system “leaves too many people in a permanent state of dependence on benefits without the opportunity of work”.
Following the announcement, the two most commonly claimed health-related benefits – the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and the health element of Universal Credit – are both set to see major changes over the coming years and months.
This has left many of the UK’s health-related benefit claimants concerned for their futures, and unsure if they will be able to afford the essentials.
Explained: the support available for benefit claimants as announces Labour cuts
Charlotte, 40, from Hertfordshire says she is “terrified” about the changes. She claims PIP and Employment and Support (ESA) and lives with her brother, who is her carer. She is blind, has a hearing impairment, and has a genetic condition that affects her skull.
She told The Independent: “I grew up believing that the Labour Party was the political party for the everyday man/woman and as far as I’m concerned, being disabled doesn’t stop us from being as important as the everyday man/woman who isn’t disabled.”
Following the cuts, between 800,000 and 1.2 million are set to lose their entitlement to PIP as the benefit effectively becomes harder to claim, analysis by the Resolution Foundation found. The payment is designed to help people afford costs incurred by their health, and will be worth at least £4,000 a year by 2029.
Meanwhile, around 2.4 million families claiming the health element of Universal Credit will lose around £280 a year from April next year. At the same time new claimants of the benefit will begin receiving an almost halved rate, so will only be entitled to £2,800 less than current claimants from April next year.
Jade, 35, lives in Birmingham and also receives ESA and PIP. She has cerebral palsy, and is blind, non-verbal, and uses a powered wheelchair. She says that she is worried about the upcoming changes as the money she receives through benefits barely covers her living costs at the moment.
“I honestly don’t know to feel,” she says. “Disabled people have felt so much anxiety recently, hanging in the unknown.
“There are some good things in here, like the right to try guarantee, which could be positive if done well. But at the same time there are lots of cuts and cost-saving policies that will affect millions of disabled people. My benefits barely cover the bills and food shop as it is, so this is really concerning.”
Labour ministers say the cuts are necessary to bring down Britain’s spiralling benefits bill, and add that provisions have been made for vulnerable claimants. For instance, the party has proposed that those with the most severe conditions receive an additional premium and will not need to undertake health reassessments.
But the decision to balance spending by cutting welfare spending has been widely criticised by charities and campaigners. A coalition of over 100 charities including the Scope, Macmillan and Parkinson’s UK called the cuts “immoral and devastating.”
James Watson-O’Neill, Chief Executive at the national disability charity Sense, said: “Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has nothing to do with work. It exists because living with a disability means facing higher costs, from increased energy bills to specialised equipment and specific diets. These additional expenses won’t disappear if eligibility is tightened. It will only plunge more disabled people into poverty.
“Making it harder to access benefits won’t help disabled people find jobs either. It will only deepen the struggle.”
Dean, 57, from Bradford has been on PIP for about 10 years, three of these have been spent on the higher rate following a surgical error. He says the benefit is essential for ensuring his ability to live independently, and that he is very worried about losing it.
“If they cut it, I’ll lose my car, my independence,” he says. “I’ll just become a house recluse, because I won’t be able to get out anywhere.
“My car is my life. Without me car… the money that I get from them, I would just be in one massive hole where I wouldn’t be able to find a way out. Already in the past I’ve already attempted suicide.
“Everybody knows I’m genuine. But I’m panicking like mad. People know what I’ve gone through, they know I’m not faking it, they know I’m in genuine pain – I’m on morphine constantly.”
Reports of the cuts had swirled since the Tories announced its own plans to reform PIP in 2023. This left many of the UK’s 3.7 million claimants in the lurch, eager to understand how Labour would continue the plans.
Paul, 49, from Newcastle has a terminal illness, and has been assessed as having three years to live. He has complex health needs and long-standing mental health issues which entitle him to PIP.
He says: “I’ve just got to a position where I’ve got some semblance of a quality of life, I wouldn’t say I’m skipping through the tulips or something, I’ve got my carers and stuff like that and I’m obviously worried about that being removed.”
“I was mortified that they’re making harder to get because it seemed like such a slog to get on it in the first place, you know.”
“I know a lot of people are like ‘oh well they’re just sitting in their house on benefits,’ but I don’t think they realise until they need the safety net themselves that just because they’re not falling at the minute doesn’t mean they won’t need a safety net in the future.”
Both Paul and Dean were helped with issues around benefits and debt in the past by national charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP). Responding to the changes, the charity’s executive officer Stewart McCulloch said: “We understand the Government needs to try and prevent the welfare bill from rising substantially in the coming years, but we believe investing in people, instead of cutting their income, is the way to achieve this.
“Many people in receipt of PIP Daily Living rely on this additional support to help them with everyday life. The prospect of potentially losing this vital source of income will create high levels of anxiety for some of the UK’s most vulnerable households.”
Speaking to The Independent, Mr McCulloch said even after CAP advisors are able to help people with issues like budgeting, costs and debt, they are still on average £273 a month “underwater.”
“People talk of an incentive effect – an incentive to get back to work,” he says, “well, if somebody’s underwater, putting them more underwater isn’t a greater incentive”.
The charity chief adds that it is important to remember that “when we talk about the people struggling, it’s not some other group of people – it’s us.
“This is very close at hand, these are our friends, community members,” he says, “a lot of our clients are just ordinary people who have lost a job, had an illness … something bad happens to them and their finances spiral out of control.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “Helping people into good work and financial independence is at the heart of our Plan to Change, but the broken social security system we inherited is failing people who can and have the potential to work, as well as the people it’s meant to be there for.
“That’s why we’re delivering a £1 billion employment support package to break down barriers for disabled people into work. We’re also rebalancing Universal Credit payment levels so the benefit’s main rate rises above inflation for the first time in a boost for low income working families.
“Our reforms will ensure the most vulnerable and severely disabled people are supported to live with dignity, whilst making sure that everyone who can realise the benefits of work is expected and supported to do so.”
- In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.
