UK Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has delivered a speech in front of a packed House Of Commons in which she laid out the government’s plans to try and save billions whilst not making the lives of disabled people too difficult on a daily basis. In a list of measures which was mainly centred around the different kinds of support that are on offer to those who need it, there has been an extremely controversial build up and atmosphere due to the fact that Labour normally looks to support and cater for those who are in extra need. It was made clear that action had to be taken to try and save money due to the actions taken during fourteen years of Conservative policy which had left the country’s finances in a very precarious situation.
One of the main issues which was addressed was the number of people claiming Personal Independence Payments and to try and address this concern, a new measure has been put in place so that anyone applying for the benefit would have to score at least four points in the daily living component. This has drawn concern from the disabled community who say that those who need the support may actually lose it but this was rebuffed by those on the Labour benches who stated that it was a way to make it a fairer society and prevent people claiming PIP for things such as mental health issues. There are concerns that those who qualify for PIP at the moment won’t qualify for it again.
Labour MP Clive Lewis challenged the Chancellor as to whether the Department for Work and Pensions – of which she is the head – has considered the “pain and difficulty” these changes will cause millions of people “on the brink”.
“I would like her department to be able to look my constituents in the eye when I go back to them to tell them this is going to work for them,” he adds.
Kendall says that getting more people into better paid jobs is “the key to their future success”.
Away from the Commons, disability rights charity Scope has come out strongly against the welfare reform plans, saying the cuts should “shame the government to its core”.
James Taylor, the charity’s executive director of strategy, said the government is “choosing to penalise some of the poorest people in our society”.
“Life costs more if you are disabled,” he says. “Ripping £5bn out of the system by 2030 will be a catastrophe for disabled peoples’ living standards and independence.”
Following the Chancellors main speech, there was a debate in the house where all MP’s had the chance to look further in to the proposed actions and question the Chancellor as to whether they would actually work and ensure that disabled people maintained a good standard of living. It was made clear that those who can work should work and help to give back to society.
There was also an announcement to get rid of work capability assessments.
Debbie Abraham, Labour MP and chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, says she agrees the social security system is not fit for purpose and increasing universal credit will be positively felt.
She says the £5bn cut is the largest in social security support since 2015 and there are more “compassionate ways to balance the books”.
She thinks as a matter of urgency the government must publish the mental health impact of the cuts.
Kendall says equality and poverty analysis will be published in the Spring Statement.
Many of the MP’s in the house questioned the fairness of targetting disabled people to try and balance the books instead of trying to see whether high earners or those who can afford it could pay a bit more through their taxes to try and balance the books. The Chancellor said she wasn’t doing that at all and was trying to find the fairest way to try and ensure the country’s deficit didn’t become any bigger than it needed to be.
Another measure which was also introduced was a disabled person’s right to try work with out the risk of losing any of their benefits.
There should be more support for those who can work so that we can actually help those who are in actual need. It was declared that the welfare system was actually broken and action needed to be taken in order to fix it and create a fairer system.
