Rachel Reeves delivered her spring statement today – announcing further welfare cuts labelled as ‘deeply concerning’ by disability charities who warn the changes will ‘push more disabled people into poverty’
The Spring Statement has been called ‘a new low in the fight against poverty and inequality’ by charities and organisations who say they ‘are deeply concerned that the government is attempting to balance the books at the expense of disabled people’.
The Chancellor has been criticised for further cuts announced during the Spring Statement on Wednesday.
Some of the main takeaways include no further tax increases, the government working with the Bank of England to get inflation levels down to 2% per year, increased defence spending, and an increase in disposable income for the average household by around £500 a year.
The Chancellor also announced further cuts to benefits handed out by the Department of Work and Pensions. The Universal Credit health element will be cut by 50% and frozen for new claimants. However, the Universal Credit standard allowance will increase from £92 per week in 2025-26, to £106 per week by 2029-30.
The Chancellor claimed the “broken” welfare system must change and help more people into work, otherwise “we are writing off an entire generation that cannot be right”.
It comes after the government earlier this month announced plans to cut more than £5bn from the welfare budget.
The senior policy adviser of Oxfam, Anna Marriott said: “Today marks a new low in the fight against poverty and inequality as the Government chooses to cut vital international aid and social security support for millions of people struggling at home and around the world while protecting the soaring wealth of millionaires and billionaires.
“Three-quarters of the British public back Government tax increases on the very richest instead of these cruel and unnecessary cuts, but the Chancellor has decided to turn her back on fairness.
“These cuts are not just numbers on a balance sheet but will cost lives and have a devastating impact on people facing conflict, poverty and climate disasters around the world.
“It’s not about tough decisions; it’s about political choices. The Government must stop protecting extreme wealth and start protecting people.”
The spring statement came after the government announced their major overhaul of the benefits system on March 18 – overwhelmingly effecting PIP claimants and eligibility criteria.
As part of the overhaul, work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall told MPs the reforms would save £5bn by the end of the decade by making people who have ‘lower needs’ ineligible for the daily living component of PIP in the future through changes to the PIP scoring system.
However, the Labour minister told the House of Commons that PIP would not be frozen or ‘means-tested’ as part of the reforms and will remain an ‘important’ benefit for disabled people and people with health conditions, regardless of whether they are in work or not.
Other charities and organisations have responded to Ms Reeve’s statement, with a coalition of more than 100 disability organisations saying the cuts will ‘heighten alarm’ among claimants.
Charles Gillies, co-chair at the Disability Benefits Consortium said: “The Chancellor has chosen to double down on harmful benefits cuts, despite warnings this approach will push more disabled people into poverty and worsen people’s health.
“Since the cuts were announced last week, we’ve seen an outpouring of fear and dread from disabled people, including many with MS.
“The extra cuts announced today will heighten alarm even further, largely hitting those who are unable to work and rely on these benefits to survive.
“People are wondering how they’ll continue to cover their basic living expenses and the extra costs of their disability – like visits from carers to help with things like washing, cooking and going to the toilet.
“The Government has a moral obligation to scrap these cuts before the real damage is done.”
James Watson-O’Neill, Chief Executive of the national disability charity Sense said: “It’s difficult to see the proposed welfare reforms as anything other than a cost-cutting measure, and we are deeply concerned that the government is attempting to balance the books at the expense of disabled people.
“The independent Impact Assessment on welfare reform, published today, paints a stark picture, surpassing even our worst fears – with millions of disabled people at risk of losing vital financial support, and those already most vulnerable set to be hit the hardest.
“Sense is particularly concerned that three million people who have been assessed as unable to work could face a loss of nearly £2,000 a year in benefits. Many of these individuals already struggle to afford essential equipment and support, with half of those affected by these changes going without necessary items due to financial constraints. For these people, further cuts would be catastrophic.
“The analysis also reveals that 800,000 people receiving Personal Independence Payment could be negatively impacted by these reforms. This benefit is crucial in helping disabled people cover the extra costs of living with a disability, whether they are in work or not. Cutting this vital support is not a pathway to increasing employment for disabled people – it’s a perilous cliff edge that could push many into financial hardship.
“We urgently need the government to implement robust financial protections for disabled people with complex needs, which Sense would like to work with the government in creating. In addition, if the government are really serious about helping disabled people get into work, we need stronger measures to address the barriers to employment, starting with the introduction of accessible technology in Jobcentres and enhanced disability training for work coaches.”
Ms Reeves said the government ‘inherited a broken system’ on welfare, telling MPs: “The OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) have said that they estimate the package will save £4.8 billion in the welfare budget, reflecting their judgments on behavioural effects and wider factors.
“This also reflects final adjustments to the overall package, consistent with the Secretary of State’s statement last week and the Government’s Pathways to Work Green Paper.
“The universal credit standard allowance will increase from £92 per week in 2025-26 to £106 per week by 2029-30, while the universal credit health element will be cut by 50% and then frozen for new claimants.
“More than 1,000 people qualify for personal independence payments every single day and one in eight young people are not in employment, education or training.
“If we do nothing, that means we are writing off an entire generation. That cannot be right. It is a waste of their potential and it is a waste of their futures.”