CPAG’s response to proposed changes to sickness and disability benefits

The Pathways to Work green paper and subsequent Spring Statement set out a series of changes to sickness and disability benefits, some of which are being consulted on, and others which are not.

Cuts to support

The non-consulted changes are expected to be put before parliament in legislation, and include large cuts to sickness and disability benefit rates and tightened eligibility criteria.

These non-consulted changes will result in a net reduction in social security expenditure of £5 billion a year by 2029/30. This is the biggest cut to sickness and disability benefits in a generation. It will push 50,000 children into poverty, and reduce living standards for many more. A significant number of those affected are already living in poverty. 

The £5 billion cut by 2029/30 masks the long-term impact of the changes. In 2029/30, most UC health element claimants will be ‘exempted’ from the full extent of the cuts. CPAG estimates that the long-term impact is an additional £5 billion cut, pushing 100,000 more children into poverty.

The government has framed these changes as being about getting people into work, but it is likely only tens of thousands of people will enter work – a tiny fraction of the millions who will lose vital income. This is income that is desperately needed to cover the additional costs of sickness or disability. In addition, personal independence payment (PIP) exists to support individuals with the additional costs of disability and is not intended to reflect a person’s work or earnings status. 

Design changes

There are also a variety of changes focused on the design of the social security system, both consulted and non-consulted. Some of these have the potential to improve the system, but some will entrench the flaws in the current system. 

These large cuts to sickness and disability benefits risk undermining wider government objectives to tackle child poverty and increase living standards by the end of this parliament.

If the government is serious about reducing child poverty and supporting sick and disabled people into work, it needs to invest in the social security system, not take billions of pounds out of it.