With self-imposed fiscal rules leaving it little room for manoeuvre, the government has made its choice: no to more borrowing, tax rises or the wealth tax suggested by some of its own MPs – and yes to cutting disability benefits. Speaking in the House of Commons, Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, did her best to talk up the £1bn funding she has secured to help people back into work. But the bleak reality is that £5bn of cuts to disability and incapacity benefits are expected to leave up to 1 million people worse off. Dress it up as they might – by blaming the Tories for everything that has gone wrong with the system, and warning that the trajectory of rising claims is unsustainable – this is a wrong and cruel decision that ministers should live to regret.
A possible freeze in the level of personal independence payments (Pips) paid to disabled people was dropped after protests. A means test has also not materialised, so the entitlement remains universal. But the criteria for claims are being tightened, at the same time as a separate assessment process for the health element of universal credit is scrapped. For those who don’t meet the new Pip criteria, there could be a £3,500 annual loss of income from next year (more details will come from the Office for Budget Responsibility). For many thousands of vulnerable households, this will be a life-changing loss of income.
