Latest news with #DebbieAbrahams
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Perverse' benefits system is unsustainable, warns Liz Kendall
Liz Kendall has said 'perverse incentives' in the benefits system must be tackled as she resists pressure from Labour rebels to water down her welfare reforms. The Work and Pensions Secretary said the Government needed to take 'urgent action' to get people into work and warned that the rise in claims for personal independence payment (Pip) was 'not sustainable'. In a letter to Debbie Abrahams, the chairman of the Commons work and pensions select committee, Ms Kendall said: 'Reforms are needed now to make the system sustainable, while supporting those people with the greatest needs. 'Our plan to rebalance the rates in Universal Credit will remove perverse incentives that trap people in benefit dependency.' The comments come as Ms Kendall's plans to cut personal independence payment (Pip) and the health element of universal credit face mounting criticism from Labour MPs. Last month the MPs' committee urged Ms Kendall to delay the implementation of her reforms, citing concerns about 'the impact of the proposed cuts in universal credit health support on employment, poverty and health outcomes'. Backbenchers have also been calling for the proposals to be dropped. Dismissing their concerns, Ms Kendall wrote: 'We urgently need welfare reform to give people a better future – to stop people from falling into inactivity, restore trust and fairness in the system.' As it stands, those who are permanently signed off work because of sickness and claim universal credit health top up receive more than twice as much as those on the basic level of universal credit. Those signed off sick do not need to look for work, while those on basic universal credit do. Ms Kendall and others argue that this encourages people to claim sickness benefits and puts them off trying to find work. A report from the Resolution Foundation found that 'changes to the benefits system over the last decade have strengthened the incentive to claim incapacity and disability benefits'. The changes to the welfare system include stricter eligibility for claiming Pip and reducing payments for new claimants of the health element of Universal Credit. They are forecast to save £5bn by 2030. The Work and Pensions Secretary said the reforms were necessary as the current rise in Pip cases was outpacing the increase in disability prevalence. Even after changes to disability benefits, the number of people on Pip is still forecast to grow by 750,000 by the end of the parliament, according to government estimates. The cost of Pip is poised to rise from £15bn before the pandemic to £37bn in real terms by the end of the decade, while the overall cost of sickness and disability benefits is expected to climb to £100bn. Pip is the main non-means-tested benefit for those with health conditions or disabilities, with payments of up to £9,500 a year to help people with living costs and getting around. '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,' said Ms Kendall. Under plans announced in March, the Government will tighten the eligibility criteria for people to claim Pip. A separate but linked concern are worries about the high level of unemployed young people. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 923,000 people aged between 18 and 24 were not in employment, education or training (Neet) in between January and March 2025. There are concerns that many will find themselves stuck on benefits without help. Alison McGovern, the employment minister, told the work and pensions committee on Wednesday: 'The situation for young people – well, it's a big worry for me at the moment.' Ms McGovern added that the high number of Neets meant there were 'nearly one million young people effectively on the scrapheap. They need a start, they need a chance for a career'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
12-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
‘Perverse' benefits system is unsustainable, warns Liz Kendall
Liz Kendall has said 'perverse incentives' in the benefits system must be tackled as she resists pressure from Labour rebels to water down her welfare reforms. The Work and Pensions Secretary said the Government needed to take 'urgent action' to get people into work and warned that the rise in claims for personal independence payment (Pip) was 'not sustainable'. In a letter to Debbie Abrahams, the chairman of the Commons work and pensions select committee, Ms Kendall said: 'Reforms are needed now to make the system sustainable, while supporting those people with the greatest needs. 'Our plan to rebalance the rates in Universal Credit will remove perverse incentives that trap people in benefit dependency.' The comments come as Ms Kendall's plans to cut personal independence payment (Pip) and the health element of universal credit face mounting criticism from Labour MPs. Last month the MPs' committee urged Ms Kendall to delay the implementation of her reforms, citing concerns about 'the impact of the proposed cuts in universal credit health support on employment, poverty and health outcomes'. Backbenchers have also been calling for the proposals to be dropped. Dismissing their concerns, Ms Kendall wrote: 'We urgently need welfare reform to give people a better future – to stop people from falling into inactivity, restore trust and fairness in the system.' As it stands, those who are permanently signed off work because of sickness and claim universal credit health top up receive more than twice as much as those on the basic level of universal credit. Those signed off sick do not need to look for work, while those on basic universal credit do. Ms Kendall and others argue that this encourages people to claim sickness benefits and puts them off trying to find work. A report from the Resolution Foundation found that 'changes to the benefits system over the last decade have strengthened the incentive to claim incapacity and disability benefits'. The changes to the welfare system include stricter eligibility for claiming Pip and reducing payments for new claimants of the health element of Universal Credit. They are forecast to save £5bn by 2030. The Work and Pensions Secretary said the reforms were necessary as the current rise in Pip cases was outpacing the increase in disability prevalence. Even after changes to disability benefits, the number of people on Pip is still forecast to grow by 750,000 by the end of the parliament, according to government estimates. The cost of Pip is poised to rise from £15bn before the pandemic to £37bn in real terms by the end of the decade, while the overall cost of sickness and disability benefits is expected to climb to £100bn. Pip is the main non-means-tested benefit for those with health conditions or disabilities, with payments of up to £9,500 a year to help people with living costs and getting around. '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,' said Ms Kendall. Under plans announced in March, the Government will tighten the eligibility criteria for people to claim Pip. A separate but linked concern are worries about the high level of unemployed young people. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 923,000 people aged between 18 and 24 were not in employment, education or training (Neet) in between January and March 2025. There are concerns that many will find themselves stuck on benefits without help. Alison McGovern, the employment minister, told the work and pensions committee on Wednesday: 'The situation for young people – well, it's a big worry for me at the moment.' Ms McGovern added that the high number of Neets meant there were 'nearly one million young people effectively on the scrapheap. They need a start, they need a chance for a career'.
Sky News
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Work and pensions secretary tells MPs controversial disability benefit reforms will go ahead next year
The government has told MPs it will not back down from its controversial reforms to disability benefits, which are set to be introduced to parliament later this month. More than 100 Labour MPs are thought to have concerns about the plans to cut nearly £5bn from the welfare bill by restricting personal independence payments (PIP) and the health top-up to Universal Credit. Charities say the changes will have a "catastrophic" effect on vulnerable people. 3:06 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. Labour MP Debbie Abrahams wrote that while there was a case for reform to disability benefits, "the evidence indicated [these changes] might not improve outcomes for most claimants, but instead push many into poverty and further away from the labour market". But Ms Kendall has written back, in a letter made public on Wednesday, to reject the idea because the bill needs final approval from parliament in November in order for the changes to take effect in 2026. She 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." 3:38 What is the government's plan? The government says the PIP caseload has more than doubled from 15,000 new claims per month in 2019 to 34,000. PIP is a benefit to help disabled people with the increased costs of day-to-day living. It is proposed that claimants will need to achieve four points out of eight in their assessment to qualify for the benefit, and the government says some 370,000 existing claimants will lose out when reassessed. Ms Kendall says the growth in claims means the PIP caseload will still increase by the end of the parliament. The government will also tackle what Ms Kendall called the "perverse incentive" to claim the health top-up for Universal Credit by freezing it at £97 a week for existing claimants, and slashing the rate to £50 a week for new claimants. The average loss of benefits will be £1,700 a year for some three million people. Claimants with the most serious conditions, who have been assessed as never able to work, will not be subject to reassessment, ministers say, allowing them to have peace of mind. The government will provide £1bn for targeted support schemes to help disabled people into work. But it's estimated these will help only some 70,000 people find employment. 1:23 Ms Kendall said a minister in her department is engaging with disabled people and organisations about the PIP assessment process, but said: "The PIP assessment review will rightly take time and require extensive engagement, and we cannot wait for its conclusion to make the urgently needed changes to the PIP eligibility criteria." 'Deeply disappointing news' The first minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan, who is gearing up for elections next year, told Sky News she had spoken to Ms Kendall about her concerns last week. She said: "This is going to be really challenging for a lot of people in Wales. We know more people in Wales will be affected by PIP than in any other part of the country. "We do think there needs to be reform of welfare because we believe people can work should work, but in Wales we have examples of where we hold people's hands, stand by them, we help them into work, and we think that's more of a productive approach." Labour MP Richard Burgon, who has vowed to vote against the reforms, said: "This will be deeply disappointing news for all the MPs who've been urging the government to delay this decision. Instead of allowing time for proper scrutiny and meaningful dialogue with disabled people, the government has brushed aside MPs' genuine concerns.
Daily Mirror
29-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
PM's constituency lit up with messages over DWP cuts - 'Tax super rich instead'
One of the messages on the clocktower at St Pancras Station in Keir Starmer's constituency said 'Tax The Super Rich Instead' while another added 'Being Sick Or Disabled Isn't A Choice' Campaigners against planned disability cuts have projected messages on a key landmark in Keir Starmer's London constituency. One of them on the clocktower at St Pancras Station said "Tax The Super Rich Instead" while another added "Being Sick Or Disabled Isn't A Choice". The campaign group 38 Degrees, who organised the stunt on Wednesday evening, said it was sending the Prime Minister a message he cannot ignore. It comes after the government unveiled around £5billion in cuts to disability benefits in March - largely by restricting eligibility to Personal Independence Payments (PIP). Charities have expressed alarm at the changes which could lose to hundreds of thousands of people losing eligibility to the key disability benefit. CEO of the campaign group 38 Degrees, Matthew McGregor, described the cuts as "heartless" and said sick and disabled people across the country "are terrified". "None of us know when we might need a safety net, so it's no wonder that hundreds of thousands of people have spoken out against these plans, and thousands more have chipped in to bring a message to Holborn and St Pancras that Keir Starmer can't ignore: stop these cruel cuts, protect the sick and vulnerable, and tax the super rich instead," he said. The PM is also facing the biggest revolt of his premiership so far when the reforms to PIP are voted on in the Commons in June. Over 100 Labour MPs have written to the Chief Whip saying they cannot support the measures and have urged the government to pause. They have expressed concern over an official government analysis suggesting the reforms could result in extra 250,000 - including 50,000 kids - falling into poverty. And just last week the cross-party Work and Pensions Committee - led by the senior Labour MP Debbie Abrahams - also wrote to the Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall urging her to delay the reforms. They said MPs are being asked to vote on the changes "without the benefit of a full impact assessment" and costing from the economic watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility. But speaking to The Mirror, Ms Kendall said: "I understand people's concern and I understand people are anxious. But we are consulting with disabled people and the organisations that represent them on our PIP review, to look at the assessment process. I believe the task of helping people who can work, get work, is urgent." She added: "I am listening. I have great respect for Debbie Abrahams and members of the Committee. I am talking in detail with MPs... we want to get this right. I think the task of overhauling the system that has written off and denied people support for too long - there has been failure of the last government to deal with these problems - and I want to make a start."
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Martin Lewis' inbox 'flooded' with messages concerned about same thing
Martin Lewis has revealed that his inbox is "flooded" with messages from people concerned about cuts to disability benefits. Back in March, the government announced plans to cut around £5 billion from sickness and disability benefits, with restrictions to the eligibility for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) being the main target of the cuts. Martin told BBC Radio 4 on Friday: "My mailbox is flooded with people concerned on that - both with physical and mental health disabilities problems - worried about how they are going to live and how they are going to continue. Read more: Martin Lewis urges parents on Universal Credit to 'check out' £1,800 perk "When you take a payment away from people who have no other income the biggest problem you have is what do you do, how do you transition them to the new lower income when prices are going up? "The answer is you can't. So it will cause pain and the government need to be aware of that." The finance guru isn't the only one concerned about the proposed cuts, as over 100 Labour MPs have suggested they cannot support the measure, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer facing the a major revolt over it. Now, a cross-party Work and Pensions Committee, which is led by Labour MP Debbie Abrahams, wrote to the Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall urging her to pause the reforms. Ms Kendall said: "I understand people's concern and I understand people are anxious. But we are consulting with disabled people and the organisations that represent them on our PIP review, to look at the assessment process. "I believe the task of helping people who can work, get work, is urgent." She added: "I am listening. I have great respect for Debbie Abrahams and members of the Committee. "I am talking in detail with MPs... we want to get this right. "I think the task of overhauling the system that has written off and denied people support for too long - there has been failure of the last government to deal with these problems - and I want to make a start." Join our dedicated BirminghamLive WhatsApp community for the latest updates sent straight to your phone as they happen. You can also sign up to our Money Saving Newsletter which is sent out daily via email with all the updates you need to know on the cost of living, including DWP and HMRC changes, benefits, payments, banks, bills and shopping discounts. Get the top stories in your inbox to browse through at a time that suits you.
