Thousands of disabled women could find themselves trapped with abusers as a result of the government’s upcoming welfare cuts, campaigners have warned, despite Sir Keir Starmer offering significant concessions on the reforms late on Thursday.
In the face of a growing rebellion, the prime minister announced adjustments to his welfare bill, including protecting personal independence payments (PIP) for all existing claimants – a move that is expected to ensure the legislation passes its second reading on Tuesday.
But domestic violence charity Refuge and the Women’s Budget Group (WBG) have issued a stark warning over the reforms, saying that in the long term, the cuts to vital funding for daily living costs for disabled people – which will impact all new claimants – will make it difficult for those at risk to flee abusive relationships.
Even with the concessions, the welfare cuts will be “devastating for disabled women”, WBG said, noting that disabled women are twice as likely to be victims of domestic abuse.
For many, PIP is the only income they receive, WBG warned, so not having access to this source of individual support elevates the risk of coercive control and makes it harder to escape abusive situations.
As a result, Refuge argued, Sir Keir will struggle to reach his target of halving violence against women and girls (VAWG).
A scathing report, published jointly by WBG and disabled women’s collective Sisters of Frida, claims the cuts will deepen disabled women’s “economic insecurity, increase their vulnerability to violence and abuse, push them out of the labour market, and make parenting harder”.
Their analysis, seen by The Independent, shows that women who are future claimants will be disproportionately affected by stricter eligibility rules for PIP.
Currently, 52 per cent of female PIP claimants don’t score four points in any one activity compared to 39 per cent of male claimants. This is likely due to the higher prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions and arthritis among women, conditions which are less likely to score four points in one indicator.
Although current claimants will be protected, it indicates a broader gender imbalance that will leave women more significantly impacted by the cuts in the longer term.
The government estimates that under the current rules, around 1,000 new people are signing on for PIP every day.
Dr Sara Reis, WGB’s deputy director, warned it would make women more vulnerable to abuse, while Refuge said the cuts would have “devastating impacts on disabled survivors”.
Gemma Sherrington, CEO of Refuge, told The Independent that the cuts present a “truly terrifying prospect for disabled survivors”, warning that they would “severely undermine the government’s commitment to halve violence against women and girls”.
“At Refuge, nearly one in three [29 per cent] of the survivors we support have a disability or mental health condition. For PIP claimants, this support is vital for covering essential living costs – and can mean the difference between fleeing to safety or remaining with an abusive partner”, she said.
“Further restricting the financial resources of disabled survivors could leave thousands trapped with abusers – and that could have fatal consequences.
“If the government is serious about tackling VAWG, it cannot afford to neglect disabled survivors. We strongly echo the report’s recommendation to scrap these cruel reforms and provide disabled survivors with the protection and support they deserve.”
Dr Reis added: “The proposed changes will be devastating for disabled women, cutting away income that grants many of them independence.
“The government already knows that it will push more people into poverty, but it also needs to be aware that these changes will make disabled women more vulnerable to abuse, make it harder for them to parent, and shut them out of jobs.
“We are glad to see the government reconsidering the reforms and to consult on changes to PIP – disabled people should be at the centre of designing any changes to the disability benefit system.
“However, as reforms stand, they will bring more and more people into poverty as new claimants will not have access to the same support as exists now.”
Responding to the report, Labour MP Rachael Maskell – who plans to vote against the bill on Tuesday – said she feels “sick to the stomach” that ministers would press ahead with the reforms in light of WBG’s report.
She told The Independent: “These cuts are gendered and dangerous, and blow a hole through the government’s VAWG work too. Surely this evidence will cause government to realise that they have overreached and must withdraw this bill.
“I feel sick to the stomach that they would press ahead after this evidence from Refuge and the Women’s Budget Group. We already know that older women forced to work into later life experience greater ill health, and now this evidence highlights this.”
It comes after the Joseph Rowntree Foundation urged MPs to oppose the welfare reforms, even with the concessions, warning that “new disabled claimants from next year will continue to be pushed into deep hardship by these cuts”.
Meanwhile, Amnesty said the concessions are “nothing more than a superficial attempt to get MPs to vote through this cruel and harmful piece of legislation”, warning it will “deepen poverty, entrench discrimination, and create a two-tier welfare system that cannot be justified under any circumstances”.
Some 126 Labour backbenchers had signed an amendment that would halt the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill in its tracks when it faces its first Commons hurdle on 1 July. Rebels now believe the concessions on offer will be enough to win over a majority.
The government’s original package had restricted eligibility for PIP, the main disability payment in England, and cut the health-related element of universal credit, saying this would save around £5bn a year by 2030.
Now, the changes to PIP eligibility will be implemented in November 2026 and apply to new claimants only, while all existing recipients of the health element of universal credit will have their incomes protected in real terms.
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall confirmed the U-turn in a letter to MPs late on Thursday night, along with plans for a review of the PIP assessment to be led by disabilities minister Sir Stephen Timms and “co-produced” with disabled people.
A No 10 spokesperson said the current welfare system is “failing people”, arguing that it “traps millions, tells them the only way to get help is to declare they’ll never work again – and then abandons them.”
“No help, no opportunity, no dignity. We can’t accept that and need to start fixing it”, they said.
The spokesperson added: “The government has listened to MPs who support the principle of reform but are worried about the pace of change for those already supported by the social security system.”
