Chancellor Rachel Reeves is under mounting pressure to abandon a £1.3bn cut to disability benefits, first announced by the previous Conservative government, ahead of the forthcoming budget. The Resolution Foundation, a leading independent thinktank, has warned that the changes could see around 420,000 of the most vulnerable people lose up to £4,900 a year.
The proposed changes to the work capability assessment (WCA) are due to take effect from April 2025, with a final decision expected in Reeves's budget on 30 October. The Resolution Foundation has called for the plan to be dropped or delayed, arguing that key aspects have not been properly thought through and could lead to legal challenges.
Mike Brewer, interim chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: 'These changes disproportionately affect lower-income households, and could lead to individuals missing out on support, in spite of being at substantial risk of harm, opening up the government to legal challenges.' He added that the changes should be delayed or cancelled until they are properly considered.
Disability rights campaigners have also voiced strong opposition. Mikey Erhardt of Disability Rights UK described the plans as 'reckless and dangerous', noting that over 600 benefits-related deaths have occurred in the last three years, many of which were suicides linked to benefit sanctions. He said: 'Carrying on the last government’s proposed changes to the work capability assessment process would prove that we are living under a government pursuing ever more surveillance of our lives.'
The controversy adds to the government's difficulties, following outcries over cuts to winter fuel payments and the refusal to end the two-child benefit cap. A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson defended the need for reform, stating: 'Spiralling inactivity and millions of people denied the right support is holding the country back and stifling the economy.'
