Benefits cuts - live: Fury over ‘immoral and devastating’ reforms as Labour slash £5bn off welfare

Many disabled people have been led to "breaking point" following recent discussions around the Government's plans to overhaul the welfare system, a Labour MP has said.

Imran Hussain, MP for Bradford East, said: "The reality remains that over the last few weeks, thousands of the most severely disabled people in my constituency and millions across the UK, have watched in disbelief as politicians debate cuts to the support that enables their very survival, leaving many at breaking point.

"Does the Secretary of State understand the real fear and distress that this has caused? And will she today, from that despatch box, commit to ensuring that not a single person who currently receives Pip now is unfairly punished or left struggling by these plans?"

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall replied: "I do understand the worry and anxiety, and I hope I've made it clear to the House today, I don't start from a position of being tough, I start by precisely from a position of compassion.

"Compassion for people who can work, who are denied, being denied opportunities, and ... compassion for severely disabled people who will never work, which is one of the reasons why we're overhauling our safeguarding processes and ensuring those who can never work are never reassessed to give them the confidence and dignity they deserve."

An estimated million disabled people will lose their benefits as part of Labour’s overhaul of the ballooning welfare budget.

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall announced that the bulk of the changes, aimed at saving £5bn by 2030, would fall on personal independence payments (PIP) by raising the threshold that people can qualify for them.

The changes come after concerns that the bill for those on disability and long term sickness benefits will hit £70bn by 2030 with the number of claimants rising from the current 2.8m to 4m.

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As part of its reforms, the Government also said it will invest an additional £1 billion a year by 2029/2030 to help support people into work including through one-to-one help.

But the planned changes have been met with anger from Labour MPs, unions and charities.

Labour MP Debbie Abrahams, chairwoman of the Commons Work and Pensions Committee, suggested “there are alternative, more compassionate ways to balance the books rather than on the back of sick and disabled people”.

Ms Kendall, confirming that impact assessments on the changes will be published alongside the spring statement next week, insisted that spending on working-age sickness and disability benefits “will continue to rise over this parliament”.

She told MPs: “The last forecast was that it would continue to rise by £18 billion. It is not a cut.”

Labour revealed the extent of its welfare reforms on Tuesday as work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall delivered an announcement in Commons on the plans.

Taking to the stand, the minister said the welfare system is “failing the very people it is supposed to help and holding our country back”.

“This government is ambitious for our people and our country and we believe unleashing the talents of the British people is the key to our future success,” she added.

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Northern Ireland’s First Minister has expressed concern over benefit reforms described as the biggest shake-up to the welfare system in a generation.

Measures proposed by the Government include legislating to tighten the eligibility for the personal independence payment (Pip), as well as scrapping the work capability assessment for universal credit.

Asked about the plans during questions for the Executive Office in the Stormont Assembly, First Minister Michelle O’Neill said she plans to raise it with the Government.

“I think that this is yet again, more of the same from this Government in London,” she said, referencing the previous cut to winter fuel payments and an increase to national insurance contributions.

“Now they’re reaching for people with disabilities, and those that are sick and vulnerable in our society,” she said.

“These are political choices, political choices being made in London that are impacting detrimentally on our lives here, and we don’t have a say in that.

“So I think that targeting the most vulnerable in our society through these punitive taxes is clearly a political choice in London, but it does not serve the interests of our people here.

“But I can assure you that, yes, we will take every opportunity to raise these issues with the relevant people in London.”

Recently, figures showed that nearly one million people aged 16-24 are Neets (not in education, employment, or training) – representing a rise of 42 per cent in the last three years – made for grim reading.

The problem is more pronounced in young men, with 150,000 more male Neets than female. The usual suspects were blamed for this rise in youth economic inactivity: the pandemic, illness and mental health issues, and too few targeted initiatives, often making it difficult for young people who actively want to work to find employment.

This cohort is firmly in the sight of the government who wants to get the young working again. While a cut to sickness benefits is being some by unnecessarily harsh, Alison McGovern, the employment minister, said she is determined that no one “is left on the scrap-heap”.

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Liz Kendall has refused to rule out making further cuts to the welfare budget during the course of this Parliament, after making sweeping reforms to the system on Tuesday.

Asked if there will be further cuts coming down the line, she told Sky News: “Well, the truth is, as you said at the beginning, spending on working age, disability and sickness benefits will still rise over the Parliament. But we will be making savings by getting more people into work and by focusing on those benefits.”

Asked whether she is saying there will be billions more savings from the welfare bill in this Parliament, Ms Kendall responded: “I'm not saying that. I'm saying this is a major package.”

Pressed on whether she would rule out any further savings, the work and pensions secretary said: “Let’s talk about the proposals we are actually making and not those which we aren't.”

Following today’s announcement, the DWP has launched a consultation on its new Pathways to Work Green Paper.

This will give anyone affected by the changes an opportunity to share their thoughts on the policies that have been put forward today.

A statement from the DWP says: “We are keen to hear views from a wide group of people, in particular disabled people and people with health conditions and disability organisations.”

There will also be several accessible events in the near future, both virtual and face-to-face. Those interested can respond online, or email Consultation.pathwaystowork@dwp.gov.uk

Downing Street would not be drawn into saying if Labour MPs could lose the whip for voting against the Government’s welfare reforms in Parliament.

“I wouldn’t get into that. That is not for me,” a No 10 spokesman said when asked what the punishment could be for rebel MPs.

Asked if Sir Keir Starmer believed it was morally right to reform eligibility for disability benefits, after describing the current system as “morally bankrupt”, the spokesman replied: “What’s morally bankrupt is a system that fails people and incentivises, wrongly, people not to work.

“The Prime Minister has been very clear that he sees this as a really important reform to turn things around, get more people back into work, provide the kind of support needed for the most vulnerable in society.”

When put to him Pip (personal independence payments) was not a work-related benefit, he replied: “On Pip more broadly, the claims, as I said, are rising at an unsustainable rate.

“We’re now in a situation where a thousand people are claiming Pip every day, and claims for disability benefits rising much faster than the number of disabled people in the country.”

Labour MP Jon Trickett said he plans to vote against the Government’s “cruel” benefits cuts.

He posted on X: “Cutting welfare payments to sick people is wrong morally, fiscally and economically and it’s cruel. We are better than this as a country. I will vote against when the time comes.”