‘We will not give a single inch,’ disabled activists vow, as Kendall publishes disability cuts bill

Disabled activists say they “will not give a single inch” in their resistance to billions of pounds of cuts confirmed yesterday by the Labour government in its new universal credit and personal independence payment bill.

Other than minor concessions by work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall, the short “two topic” bill shows ministers are determined to plough ahead with cuts to personal independence payment (PIP) and the disability element of universal credit.

There was little that was new in the bill and the other documents published by the government yesterday (Wednesday), and it is still far from clear exactly how many hundreds of thousands of disabled people will eventually lose out and by how much.

There are also further cuts and reforms to disability benefits that will be introduced by work and pensions ministers in the next year in the wake of a public consultation that ends later this month, and other reviews being carried out by the department.

The contents of the bill – all of which will apply to England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and much of it to Scotland – saw no change to the most controversial aspect of the cuts, which will mean all claimants will have to be awarded at least four points on at least one “activity” to qualify for the PIP daily living component*.

Kendall confirmed yesterday that all those who lose their PIP daily living component after being reassessed in the months and years after November 2026 will continue to receive that support for 13 weeks, which she claimed would give them time to “adapt, access new, tailored employment support, and plan for their future”.

Kendall faced ridicule and anger from disabled activists in response to this and when she said in a press release: “This legislation represents a new social contract and marks the moment we take the road of compassion, opportunity and dignity.”

She also said the bill would put “welfare spending on a more sustainable path”, when she knows that Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) figures show total spending on social security as a proportion of GDP was predicted not to increase at all this year**, and then to stay at the same level for the next four years, even before the cuts announced in March.

Kendall is also now facing at least one allegation of misleading MPs and voters.

Ministers had originally suggested in March’s Pathways to Work green paper that universal credit claimants who are terminally ill with 12 months or less to live, or have “the most severe and lifelong health conditions or disabilities”, would not face future reassessments and would receive an “additional premium”.

But the bill’s explanatory notes include no mention of an “additional premium” and instead state that claimants assessed as being part of this “severe conditions” group will receive the same health element top-up as others found to have limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA).

This means that their health element top-up will be frozen at this year’s rate until at least April 2030, so members of the severe conditions group will not receive any extra “premium” after all.

The only benefit for them being in the severe conditions group will be that they will “not be routinely reassessed”.

It is only new claimants assessed as being terminally-ill or in the severe conditions group who will benefit from the “additional premium”.

They would otherwise have received only the reduced LCWRA rate for new claimants, which is being cut from £97 per week in 2024-25 to £50 per week in 2026-27.

The bill says claimants will qualify for the “severe conditions” group if they are assessed as having LCWRA, and that the limitation “constantly applies”, will last for “the rest of the claimant’s life”, and has been diagnosed by a health care professional through NHS services.

Asked if ministers had misled MPs and disabled people about the “premium”, DWP had not commented by noon today.

Disabled people’s grassroots groups yesterday warned Labour MPs who voted with the government on the bill that they would hold them to account with voters.

Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) urged disabled people and allies to join its #WelfareNotWarfare rally outside parliament – and online – on Monday 30 June.

This is the day the government’s Pathways to Work consultation – which they have called a “consult-a-sham” – comes to an end.

DPAC will also lead a national day of action on 3 July, when the second reading of the bill – and a vote by MPs – is expected to take place.

Paula Peters, a member of DPAC’s national steering group, warned MPs that “we will continue to pile the pressure on them to vote ‘No’ to disability benefit cuts.  

“If they vote with the government, we will hold them to account.”

She warned that the cuts would cause many deaths, and said the freezing of the UC health element for four years would cause “increasing hardship as bills rise”, leaving disabled people “robbing Peter to pay Paul or going in debt”, while the PIP cuts were “devastating”.

The Scottish-based group Black Triangle warned that if Labour backbenchers did not rebel and defeat the bill, their fate would be “written in stone” and they would lose their seats at the next general election.

Caroline Collier, from Inclusion Barnet’s Campaign for Disability Justice, said: “This bill contains no real surprises, but we are disappointed that there hasn’t been a radical rethink in the face of the widespread concerns that have been voiced by disabled people’s organisations and others since the green paper was published.

“We share the government’s ambition to see more disabled people having opportunities to work, although we believe this should be led by when people feel able to do so, but we are in total opposition to the PIP and universal credit cuts. 

“We fear the consequences could be far more serious than anticipated, with a raft of bad outcomes for disabled people, and we sincerely hope that future debates and votes will force a rethink.”

Rick Burgess, a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People, said: “The architects of these policies have two disablist beliefs, that the state should spend less on disabled people and that any benefit for people unable to work incentivises people to claim it, so that must be eliminated. 

“These are nothing but cuts that will lead to more deaths and the gaslighting by ministers is continuing the long history of abusers who tell disabled people that they know best what is good for us. 

“But these sadistic cuts are not a done deal; right now, everyone must talk to their MP and tell them they must vote against this bill. 

“We will not give a single inch in our resistance to this assault on our community.” 

Svetlana Kotova, director of campaigns and justice at Inclusion London, said: “Pushing people who are ill into poverty and destitution does not bring them closer to work. 

“If the government were willing to improve disabled people’s lives, it would invest in removing the barriers we face in the workplace and society. 

“Instead, they choose to cut essential benefits and support.

“This is not the time to be passing legislation. 

“The consultation on the green paper is still open, the government has not published a full impact assessment, and no details are yet available about the employment support that is supposed to mitigate the horrendous impacts of the cuts. 

“MPs cannot make an informed decision on this basis.

“We are calling on MPs to look at the evidence, listen to their disabled constituents, and vote against this bill. 

“We are also calling on our community and everyone else who cares about equity and justice to stand together and oppose the bill.”

Mark Harrison, a member of the Reclaiming Our Futures Alliance steering group, suggested that disabled people should make the cuts “Starmer’s Poll Tax”.

He said: “After 14 years of Tory austerity, Labour is now carrying on where they left off and stepping it up to a new level.  

“The only concrete commitment in their manifesto was to consult and coproduce disability policy with disabled people’s organisations.  

“It took them less than a year to trash this pledge and do the opposite.”

He called on ministers to withdraw the bill and the other Pathways to Work proposals, and suggested that failure to address the flaws and engage with disabled people and disabled people’s organisations could lead to action in the courts and by the UN.

He said: “We will not let up until these proposals are overturned.  

“The winter fuel payments debacle shows they are politically inept and haven’t learnt anything. 

“We are putting all Labour MPs who vote for these cuts on notice that they will regret it when they are defeated at the ballot box.”

Mikey Erhardt, campaigns and policy officer for Disability Rights UK, said: “The government’s bill cutting the level of universal credit payments for disabled people and unjustifiably narrowing the eligibility for PIP is simply asking MPs to make indiscriminate and dangerous cuts that will massively worsen the lives of millions of disabled people. 

“No minor mitigations or concessions can make these cuts safe. 

“Disabled people are going to end up losing thousands of pounds per year that we rely on to survive.

“Ultimately, any MP who thinks it’s OK to vote through these cuts because of a tapering-off period of support is being taken for a ride by the government.”

And Disabled People Against Cuts Cymru, which has fought against the government’s “blatantly discriminatory and inadequate” consultation process in Wales, said: “There is no economic or moral argument, no matter how convincing, that will sway the government on this matter. 

“They aren’t interested in evidence, because they are cynically treating us as a political football for votes. 

“The proposals are utterly flawed, by every measure. 

“They must be withdrawn, and the government must start again on welfare reform, in a process led by disabled people, carers, and the workers who deliver the health, care, and welfare system.”

*This aspect does not apply to Scotland

**See chapter five of OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook – October 2024, chart 5.2

Credit for this article goes to John Pring with the Disability News Service