Chancellor Rachel Reeves (Image: Getty)
Charities have warned the Chancellor that cutting benefits for people with disabilities and long-term illnesses will have “a catastrophic impact”. They urged Chancellor to think again as Ministers face anger from Labour MPs over tough reforms to benefits designed to save billions of pounds.
Measures will focus on the 2.8 million people who are “economically inactive” due to long-term sickness, which means they are not officially classed as unemployed because they are not looking for work. The Government also aims to target the million young people not in education, employment or training.
Reforms due to be announced within days are set to include cuts to benefits paid to people with disabilities as well as a tough regime forcing many who currently don’t work to start job-hunting. The heads of 16 charities have told the Chancellor: “The impact of any cuts to disability benefits would be devastating.”
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A letter from the chief executives of Scope, the National Autistic Society, Sense, Mencap, Disability Rights UK, the RNIB, the MS Society, Mind, Parkinsons UK and others warned: “We fear the cost of cuts is too great”.
They said: “We agree with the Government’s ambition to support more disabled people into work. However, making cuts to disability benefits will not achieve this goal or fix the system.”
“There is little evidence to suggest cutting benefits increases employment outcomes. We know the benefits system is broken and needs reform. That there are disabled people out of work who want to work given the right support. And for some disabled people work isn’t appropriate. Changes to welfare must start here. Not with cuts.”
Work and Pensions Secretary Lix Kendall is expected to announce that the Government is abolishing the highest level of disability benefit while 2.4 million people claiming incapacity benefit will be required to prepare for jobs under a “duty to engage”.
More than £5 billion will be saved by restricting eligibility to personal independence payments, which help people with living expenses.
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Some Labour MPs say they have already received calls from worried constituents.
MP Rachael Maskell said: “We have got to be aware that we are talking about some very vulnerable people. We know that disabled people really do struggle with their finances and they need protecting.
“We have to make sure that those people who can work we support into work, and those people that can’t need the kind and compassionate state that gives them the support they need.”
However other Labour backbenchers, many of them newly-elected last year, are backing the planned changes and say it is essential to get more young people into employment.
A group of Labour MPs have written to Ms Kendall backing “hard choices”. The 36 backbenchers said in a letter organised by Hendon MP David Pinto-Duschinsky: “We welcome the work that has begun to rebuild our welfare system and we are fully supportive of it. We believe reforming our broken system is not only necessary, but also a truly progressive endeavour.”
Sarah Coombes, the Labour MP for West Bromwich, said: “Liz Kendall is determined to give sick and disabled people – many of whom want to work – the support they’ve been asking for. Too many people were written off and ignored by the last government, which instead chose to blame them for a rising benefits bill. This Labour government believes that having a job is important and we are making the reforms to help people into work.”