Author: David Gordon, Director of the Bristol Poverty Institute
The DWP published a Green Paper on the 18th March outlining its proposed changes to the health and disability benefits system and for employment support. The government has launched a consultation to seek views about their proposed changes which will close on 30th June 2025.
The proposed changes included some positive elements, such as a £7 per week increases to Universal Credit, an additional £172 million for the Disabled Facilities Grant over the next 2 years, an additional £1 billion employment, health and skills support package and scrapping the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) by 2028.
Unfortunately, the Green Paper also proposes that largest cuts to disability benefits in UK history (£5 billion by 2030).
The £5 billion ‘savings’ will be made by increasing the disability severity eligibility thresholds required to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and reducing the amount of additional disability-related support for new Universal Credit claimants by almost half (from £97 to £50 per week), freezing the £97 for existing claimants and possibly removing eligibility entirely for young people aged 18-22. The Resolution Foundation has estimated that about 1 million people may lose their PIP benefit entitlement. The reduction in the limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) in Universal Credit will reduce the incomes of many of the most severely disabled adults.
Eligibility for LCWRA includes;
- People who have a life expectancy of less than 12 months, or
- Those waiting for, receiving or recovering from chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or
- Pregnant women where there is a serious risk of damage to their health or the health of the baby if they do not stop work-related activity.
- People whose disability is scored 15 points on any indicator of Activities of Daily Living (ADL).
Examples, of the severe levels of disability required to claim LCWRA include;
- Cannot convey a simple message, such as the presence of a hazard – 15 Points
- Cannot raise either arm as if to put something in the top pocket of a coat or jacket – 15 Points
- At least once a week, has an involuntary episode of lost or altered consciousness that causes significant reduction in awareness or concentration – 15 Points
- Reduced awareness of everyday hazards so that there is a significant risk that they will hurt themselves or others, or damage property or possessions, so that they need supervision most of the time to stay safe – 15 Points
The morality of removing and reducing benefits claimed by severely disabled adults is questionable, particularly given the high and increasing rates of poverty that affect many disabled people and their families.
The most recently available UK poverty statistics, for 2022/23, show that there were 6.2 million people living in low-income poverty (after allowing for housing costs) in families that included a disabled adult or child. Which was 43% of all poor people.
However, the official poverty estimates have been shown to significantly underestimate the poverty of disabled people as they do not make adequate allowances for the known additional costs of disability. The Social Metrics Commission has recalculated the official poverty measure using more realistic estimates for disability costs and found that;
“More than half (8.7 million; 54%) of all people in poverty live in a family that includes a disabled person. Three in ten (31%) of those in poverty are themselves disabled: a total of 4.9 million people.” Measuring Poverty 2024, p9
Source: https://socialmetricscommission.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/SMC-2024-Report-Web-Hi-Res.pdf
The poverty data for 2023/24 will be released on the 27th March 2025 and may show that poverty amongst disabled people has continued to increase.
It should be noted that the Social Metrics Commission is run by the Centre for Social Policy – a Conservative Party think tank. Academic estimates of poverty amongst disabled people in the UK could be higher than those produced by the Social Metrics Commission.
To conclude, the Green Paper proposals outline a grim future of increasing poverty and destitution for many disabled people, particularly some severely disabled young people. Low income poverty rates, hunger and food insecurity are already high and increasing amongst disabled people and their families. The proposed £5 billion in benefits cuts will inevitably make this situation worse.
Source: https://www.jrf.org.uk/deep-poverty-and-destitution/from-disability-to-destitution