Labour urged to change course on dwp benefit cuts to stop 'catastrophic impact'

CAMPAIGNERS SLAM "BIGGEST EVER CUTS TO DISABILITY BENEFITS" AS WORK AND PENSIONS SECRETARY LIZ KENDALL SAYS THE DIFFICULT REFORMS ARE URGENT AND ESSENTIAL 18:02, 21 May 2025Updated

18:07, 21 May 2025 Labour has been urged to change course on its planned disability cuts to PIP and Universal Credit as campaigners fear a "catastrophic impact." Work and Pensions

Secretary Liz Kendall said in a new speech that reforms to the welfare system were urgent and necessary and that those with the greatest needs would be protected. But charities representing

the disabled say the measures are just about saving money. Under the proposals in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, the Universal Credit incapacity payment for having limited capability for

work and work-related activity (LCWRA) will be frozen from April 2026 and any new claimants will get half the amount. Then, from November 2026, people will need at least one score of four

in their assessment to get the daily living element of Personal Independence Payment. READ MORE: Article continues below It's thought that 800,000 people are expected to lose their PIP

daily living payments worth between £3,800 and £5,700 a year. Meanwhile, 1.7 million people currently on the Universal Credit LCWRA payment will be affected by the freeze, worth over £500

per year each in real terms, by 2029. New recipients of LCWRA will be deprived of £2,450 per year. In a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research think tank, Ms Kendall said:

"We are the only economy in the G7 whose employment rate still hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels, and spending on sickness and disability benefits in most other comparable

countries is either stable or falling since the pandemic, yet ours continues to inexorably rise. "There is nothing Labour about accepting the cost of this economic – but above all,

social – crisis, paid for in people's life chances and living standards." She added: "No responsible Labour government can resile from taking decisions because they are too

difficult, because this is not good enough for the people we came into politics to serve." The Cabinet minister said there are 1,000 new PIP claims approved every day – "the

equivalent of adding a city the size of Leicester every single year." "This is not sustainable or fair for the people who need support and for taxpayers," she said.

"Unless we reform the system to help those who can work to do so, unless we get social security spending on a more sustainable footing, and unless we ensure public money is focused on

those with the greatest need and is spent in ways that have the best chance of improving people’s lives, the risk is the welfare state won’t be there for people who really need it in future.

"That is why we are grasping the nettle of welfare reform. Not for the sake of it, but to save it." James Taylor, Director of Strategy at disability equality charity Scope,

responded to the speech, saying: "It's a devastating shame that investment in disability employment support comes with the biggest ever cuts to disability benefits.

"Government plans to rip billions from the welfare budget will hit living standards, life chances, and the social mobility of disabled people. "It is obvious the motivation has

been about saving money and not by the 'moral' desire to get more people into work. With these welfare plans, tomorrow will not be better than today for hundreds of thousands of

disabled people who are going to be dragged into poverty. "The government needs to listen to disabled people and understand the catastrophic impact the decisions they have already made

will have on their lives. We urge the Government to change course and stop these cuts." Article continues below Join our dedicated BirminghamLive WhatsApp community for the latest

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