Cuts to disability benefits would undermine government plans to tackle child poverty, warns charity
- 870,000 children live in families who receive Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- 290,000 of these children are already in poverty
- 46% of children living in families who receive PIP are in in-work households
- Households stand to lose nearly £1,400 on average, with many losing much more
Reported cuts to disability payments risk undermining wider government efforts to reduce child poverty, new analysis by Child Poverty Action Group shows.
Media reports suggest that the government is proposing to cut £5bn from Personal Independence Payment (PIP). PIP is a disability benefit for working age people who need help taking part in everyday life or who find it difficult to get around. It is there to meet the extra costs of disability, rather than acting as an earnings replacement. 46% of children living in households who receive PIP are in in-work households.
CPAG’s analysis based on the latest available data indicate 870,000 children live in families who receive PIP, 290,000 of whom are already living below the poverty line. It is unclear how the government plans to reform PIP in order to save £5bn, but there are currently 3.6 million claimants who receive PIP. The charity’s calculations show that if applied evenly claimants would stand to lose nearly £1,400, on average, with many losing much more.
34% of children living in families where someone has a disability are in poverty, higher than the average poverty rate of 30%. The government is due to publish a cross-government strategy later this year.
Alison Garnham, Chief Executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said:
Children in families where a person has a disability are already at a disproportionate risk of living in poverty. Disability benefit cuts would only make life harder for these and many more families, undermining the government’s forthcoming child poverty strategy. It will be impossible for government to cut its way to the transformative change that families need, and we ask it to step back from plans that would harm children and disabled people alike.
Notes to editors:
CPAG media contact: 07816 909302
This analysis is based on leaked proposals to cut Personal Independence Payment, first reported here: Details of more than £6bn in welfare cuts revealed | ITV News. Wider cuts have also been reported, including freezing PIP next year, so payments do not rise with inflation, and raising the basic rate for universal credit paid to those searching for work, or in work, while cutting the rate for those who are judged as unfit for work.
The total number of PIP claimants comes from Personal Independence Payment statistics to October 2024, DWP, 2024
There is no up to date admin data on the number of children (total and in poverty) in PIP claimant households. Instead, the most recent source with this information is Households Below Average Income 2022/23 survey data which can be accessed through Stat-xplore. The 870k/290k figures are from 2022/23 when total PIP claims were lower. They are therefore probably an underestimate of the current figure.
The government is due to publish a UK wide cross-government child poverty strategy later this year, delivering on a manifesto commitment.