The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), under Secretary Liz Kendall, is pressing ahead with sweeping cuts to disabled people’s benefits set to take effect in 2026, despite widespread criticism and the absence of a comprehensive impact assessment. These reforms, aiming to cut nearly £5 billion from the welfare budget, have sparked significant concern among disability rights advocates, economists, and even members within the Labour Party. 

DWP cuts: callous to the core

The proposed changes focus on tightening eligibility criteria for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and reducing the health-related component of Universal Credit. Specifically, the government plans to raise the threshold for PIP qualification, requiring claimants to score at least four points in one daily living activity, a move projected to disqualify over one million chronically ill and disabled people.

Additionally, the health top-up for Universal Credit will be frozen at £97 per week for existing claimants and reduced to £47 for new applicants, leading to an average annual loss of £1,700 for about three million people. 

The DWP’s decision to proceed without a full impact assessment has drawn sharp criticism. As Sky News reported:

The chair of the Commons’ Work and Pensions Committee wrote to the secretary of state, Liz Kendall, last month, calling on the government to delay the changes until a full assessment is carried out of the impact on employment, poverty and health.

Chair Debbie Abrahams urged a delay until assessments on employment, poverty, and health outcomes could be conducted. She warned that the reforms might push many into deeper poverty and further from the labor market. 

However, Kendall has doubled down on her vindictive stance.

Kendall: doubling down

She said in a letter to Abrahams she was rejecting any delay to DWP cuts because, as Sky News reported, “the bill needs final approval from parliament in November in order for the changes to take effect in 2026”

Kendall wrote:

We need urgent action to help people who can work, into work. With one in eight young people now not in education, employment or training and nearly 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness, and spending on health and disability benefits set to rise by an additional £18bn, we must change course.

We have consistently been clear that we are not consulting on every proposal.

Instead, parliament will have the opportunity to fully debate, propose amendments to, and vote on areas where we have announced urgent reforms that are not subject to consultation.

With PIP caseload and costs forecast to continue rising, reforms are needed now to make the system sustainable, while supporting those people with the greatest needs.

Kendall’s dismissal of these concerns, citing urgency due to rising DWP benefit costs and increasing numbers of young people not in education, employment, or training, has been seen as prioritising fiscal targets over the well-being of vulnerable populations. Her assertion that “reforms are needed now” overlooks the potential long-term social costs and the immediate hardships these changes may impose – including the deaths of chronically ill and disabled people.

Potential Consequences of DWP cuts

Economists and social policy experts have expressed skepticism about the projected savings. The Institute for Fiscal Studies noted that similar past reforms have often failed to deliver anticipated savings due to unforeseen claimant behavior and administrative complexities. 

Moreover, the reforms could disproportionately affect individuals with mental health conditions and those with less visible disabilities, who may find it more challenging to meet the stricter assessment criteria. This raises concerns about increased reliance on already strained local authority services and the NHS, potentially offsetting any savings from reduced benefit payments.

The cuts have also caused unrest within the Labour Party. Over 100 Labour MPs have expressed concerns, with some signing letters opposing the changes. Critics argue that the party is abandoning its commitment to social justice and the protection of vulnerable citizens. 

The DWP’s and Liz Kendall’s determination to implement these disability benefit reforms without a comprehensive impact assessment reflects a troubling disregard for the potential adverse effects on chronically ill and disabled people.

The lack of thorough analysis and consultation undermines the credibility of the entire government, and shows it and the DWP have zero commitment to evidence-based policymaking. Kendall should be ashamed – but it’s unlikely she is.

Featured image via the House of Commons

By Steve Topple

This post was originally published on Canary.