Yesterday, the U.K. Government revealed the details of its long-awaited proposals to cut disability welfare spending which is forecast to reach £75.7 billion by 2030 up from £48.5 billion in 2023.
Unveiling the “Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper” consultation in parliament Labour’s Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liz Kendall vowed to reduce this sharp rise by £5 billion claiming that the current system was “failing the very people it is supposed to help and holding our country back.”
The U.K. disability community which stands at 16 million people has been watching on nervously since last summer’s General Election after which the left-leaning Labour Party led by Sir Keir Starmer, often considered to be more sympathetic to the plight of minority groups than the Conservatives, announced that it would continue to explore the previous government’s plans to cut disability welfare spending. This is to be achieved through cuts to Personal Independence Payments which are non-means tested benefits to assist with the extra costs arising from living with a disability and Universal Credit which supplements individuals seeking employment, on low wages or unable to work due to ill health.
Cut out
Those who stand to lose the most from the latest reforms are those suffering from mental health conditions or those that fluctuate, those who are still able to live independently but may be on the cusp of requiring social care in the form of help from personal assistants and younger adults with disabilities.
The government plans to tighten the criteria for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payments, which focuses on activities like washing and dressing independently. From November 2026, it will be harder to qualify for financial assistance based on these activities as the scoring system used to determine eligibility will become more stringent. Meanwhile, from April 2026, the health or disability components of Universal Credit will be frozen for existing claimants until 2029/30 and virtually halved for new claimants. Those with potentially serious and life-limiting disabilities who are under 22 will, under the new proposals, no longer receive any top-up payments related to ill health but will instead be more vigorously directed towards employment support and training opportunities.
Amongst these reforms to disability benefits are certain more progressive policies. For example, there are plans to abolish the hitherto separate Work Capability Assessment by 2028 and merge it into the assessment for Personal Independence Payments thereby creating one single streamlined and holistic health assessment based on activities of daily life. Welfare benefit assessments are often an onerous and somewhat frightening experience for many with disabilities and so a reduction in the number of these to be endured would be welcome. Additionally, the government plans to roll out a so-called “right to try” scheme whereby benefit claimants will be permitted to try out employment without the fear of having to reapply for benefits all over again if things don’t work out. Historically, this fear of potentially being left high and dry with no income at all for an extended period has led to claimants feeling in a state of paralysis when it comes to experimenting with employment thereby perpetuating a reliance on welfare.
Targeting the vulnerable
Nonetheless, the outcry from disability charities and representative groups across the country has been substantial and unequivocal given the parlous situation many people with disabilities in the U.K. already find themselves in in the aftermath of the pandemic and subsequent cost of living crisis.
The Disability Benefits Consortium, a coalition of over 100 charities labelled the cuts as “immoral” and “devastating.” James Taylor, Executive Director of Strategy at disability equality charity Scope said, “The biggest cuts to disability benefits on record should shame the government to its core. They are choosing to penalize some of the poorest people in our society. Almost half of families in poverty include someone who is disabled.”
“The minister stood up today and made clear that, after months of rumours, media speculation and spin, these reforms are not about supporting Disabled people into work, but making brutal and reckless cuts of £5 billion,” wrote Mikey Erhardt, Policy Officer at Disability Rights UK.
This performative and wider strategic dimension was also hinted at in an article penned by BBC Economics Editor Faisal Islam who wrote, “These plans are more geared towards making budgetary numbers add up than fundamental welfare reform.”
Further adding, “It is a down payment on welfare reform, and a much bigger upfront scorable spending cut to help the chancellor’s numbers, and so avoid tax rises or missing her non-negotiable borrowing limits.”
Though the government has offered its assurance that the most vulnerable will always be protected and, in some cases, see their benefits increase, there is still likely to be many edge cases of individuals in dire need today who will go on to fall on the wrong side of the new lines that have now been drawn up for tomorrow. Millions more will spend the next 12 months living in panic and uncertainty that this is precisely what is about to happen to them. That’s not to mention the anxiety of potentially being forced to engage with an increasingly uncertain jobs market fuelled by rapid technological change along with a high likelihood of discriminatory attitudes by employers deciding who gets to participate within it.