This came after the Prime Minister was forced water down plays for the welfare reform bill amid the prospect of a Labour rebellion.
Since the pandemic, the number of personal independence payment (PIP) awards has more than doubled – up from 13,000 a month to 34,000 a month, Government figures show. It is the equivalent to around 1,000 people signing on to PIP every day.
Under the original reforms to restrict eligibility for PIP, the main disability benefit, and the universal credit health top-up, the Government sought to save £5bn a year by 2029/30.
Starmer forced to offer major concessions
PIP claimants who currently receive the benefit will have their payments protected following revisions to proposed welfare reforms.
The health element of universal credit will no longer be frozen at £423.27 per month from 2026-27 to 2029-30 for existing claimants, or for new claimants deemed to have conditions that mean they will never be able to work.
Starmer’s U-turn comes after crisis talks with backbenchers, prompted by 126 MPs within the party signing an amendment that would halt the welfare reforms.
Diane Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, said: “Phoney ‘concessions’ will not fundamentally improve disability benefit cuts bill. Dropping it is the only way.”
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Labour backbencher Nadia Whittome said: “Disability benefits cuts affect us all. Anyone can become disabled at any point. The Government’s concessions will leave those who become disabled in the future with even less support than today. A third of disabled people are already in poverty. We cannot allow this to grow.”
Writing in the Big Issue, Eccles said: “There are major concessions needed for myself and colleagues to support this bill, not rushed attempts at papering over significant cracks in the policy.”
Fears concessions will create a two-tier system
Despite the significant changes to the Government’s welfare reform plans, there are fresh concerns the concessions will create a two-tier system.
Disability Labour, the party’s official disabled person’s affiliate organisation, said in a statement: “Future applicants will face significantly greater barriers to essential support. Under this two-tier system, they remain at serious risk of being left in poverty, simply because of when they apply.”
“These changes don’t go far enough.”
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