The UK government wants to slash £4.5 billion from disability benefits by 2030, despite warnings that hundreds of thousands of disabled people could be pushed into poverty, according to Human Rights Watch. New draft legislation would freeze key disability payments and make it harder to qualify for support. The government says it’s protecting the “most vulnerable,” but critics argue the cuts will destroy lives.
The proposed changes target several major disability benefits that millions depend on. The government has been under pressure to reduce spending while dealing with budget constraints across public services.
The bill would freeze health-related Universal Credit payments for disabled people until 2030, meaning new claimants would get only half the support current recipients receive. It also plans to make Personal Independence Payment (PIP) much harder to get by tightening the already tough eligibility tests that force people to prove they can’t do basic tasks like washing, dressing, or cooking. The government’s own research shows up to 800,000 people could lose their PIP entirely, with 200,000 more people—including 50,000 children—falling into poverty by 2030. Major disability charities and Citizens Advice have called the cuts “devastating.”
Parliament’s Work and Pensions Committee asked the government to delay the plans last month, and this week an all-party group on poverty urged them to scrap the proposals completely. The government is moving ahead anyway, saying it will protect people with the highest needs or those near death.
