I am deeply disappointed by the changes announced to social security support for disabled people in the Government’s Pathways to Work Green Paper. I am frankly terrified of what the cuts will mean for some of the most vulnerable disabled people in Battersea, and across the UK.

More than 14 years of Conservative Government cuts to social security and public services undermined disabled people’s safety and dignity. The answer to that legacy can never be further cuts. 

Research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that poverty is consistently higher amongst disabled people and they are hit the hardest by the cost-of-living crisis.

The average disabled person already spends an average of £1010 per month more than a non-disabled person to achieve the same standard of living.

In this extremely difficult reality, Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are intended to meet some of this extra cost. Many disabled people receiving PIP are in work – indeed it is often their PIP that allows them to work.

Reducing disabled people’s eligibility for PIP will do nothing to support them into work. It may make it harder for disabled people to work, and will push more disabled people into poverty. Just a few weeks ago a new report found that 77% of people claiming disability benefits have gone without the essentials in the last six months. These changes will make an already terrible situation worse.

For those disabled people who are unable to work, incapacity benefits are a lifeline. Cutting the Universal Credit Limited Capability Work Related Activity (UC LCWRA) support will result in more people living in extreme poverty, with little difference made to the public purse.

I call on the Government to make meaningful progress in making workplaces and recruitment processes accessible to disabled people, before cutting disabled people’s income.

The UN Convention Rights of Disabled People, signed by the last Labour Government, requires states to ensure that disabled people enjoy an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families. These changes look like an abdication of that responsibility.

Note to editors:

The UC LCWRA is now being called the “UC health element”.