A homeless man in a tent in the centre of Liverpool, April 1, 2025INFLICTING welfare cuts will push more people into homelessness, charities warned today.
Disability groups also accused the government, which aims to cut £5 billion a year from welfare spending by 2030, of “playing with fire by risking the lives of disabled people to meet arbitrary fiscal goals.”
Central to Labour’s welfare cuts is the tightening of eligibility criteria for personal independence payments (PIP) — a key disability benefit for working-age adults both in and out of work.
Those under 22 with long-term illnesses or disabilities will also no longer be able to claim the health top-up to universal credit under the plans.
Westminster’s own analysis shows the cuts risk pushing 250,000 people into poverty, including 50,000 children.
A letter co-ordinated by St Mungo’s, co-signed by 13 other homelessness organisations, is urging Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall to rethink the changes.
Cuts designed to get people back into work will actually “push people further away from the labour market, increase homelessness and put excessive pressure on statutory services,” the charities warn.
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