charities

Benefit cuts will hit severely disabled people despite ministers’ claims, say charities

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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jul/08/universal-credit-cuts-will-hit-people-with-fluctuating-disabilities-charities-say

A protest in London last month against changes to benefits. The government says the severe conditions criteria will provide ‘peace of mind’. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing/Getty Images

Exclusive: Charities say planned universal credit changes fail to account for progressive or fluctuating conditions

“Huge swathes” of severely disabled people will be hit by the planned universal credit cuts, contrary to government claims that they will be protected, charities say.

Organisations including Scope, Z2K and the MS Society say the legislation, which is due to be voted on again by MPs on Wednesday, fails to account for disabilities if they are progressive or fluctuating.

The clause in the bill said to shield the most severely disabled and ill people from reassessment and the new lower benefit rate – known as the severe conditions criteria (SCC) – will only do so if a claimant meets a number of strict requirements, including that a health condition must be constant.

It means people with severe illnesses that vary with symptoms day to day, such as Parkinson’s, bipolar and multiple sclerosis, could be put on to the reduced universal credit rate despite being too ill to seek employment.

“Contrary to government claims, we have real fears that many disabled people with lifelong conditions that severely impact their daily lives will not in fact be protected from the cuts,” said Ayla Ozmen, the director of policy and campaigns at the anti-poverty charity Z2K.

“The protections have a very narrow definition – as drafted, they will only apply where someone is seriously affected by their condition at all times. Based on our experience, this will likely exclude huge swathes of disabled people, including those who have fluctuating conditions but who everyone would agree have high support needs. We’re calling on the government to drop these damaging cuts and go back to the drawing board.”

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Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jul/08/universal-credit-cuts-will-hit-people-with-fluctuating-disabilities-charities-say

Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership all feel a small part of Scunthorpe.
Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership all feel a small part of Scunthorpe.
Keir Starmer confirms that he's proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.
Keir Starmer confirms that he’s proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.
Continue ReadingBenefit cuts will hit severely disabled people despite ministers’ claims, say charities

Charities warn welfare cuts will push more people into homelessness

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/charities-warn-welfare-cuts-will-push-more-people-homelessness

 A homeless man in a tent in the centre of Liverpool, April 1, 2025

INFLICTING 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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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/charities-warn-welfare-cuts-will-push-more-people-homelessness

Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership all feel a small part of Scunthorpe.
Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership all feel a small part of Scunthorpe.
Continue ReadingCharities warn welfare cuts will push more people into homelessness

The government’s plans for unlimited surveillance on benefit claimants’ bank accounts should worry us all

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/the-governments-plans-for-unlimited-surveillance-on-benefit-claimants-bank-accounts-should-worry-us-all/

Prem Sikka is an Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Essex and the University of Sheffield, a Labour member of the House of Lords, and Contributing Editor at Left Foot Forward.

The UK government is taking statutory powers for unlimited snooping on bank and building society accounts connected with receipt of social security benefits and the state pension, even when there is no suspicion of fraud. This is the latest chapter in the right-wing coup that began in the 1980s.

Millions of individuals, landlords, charities, clubs, voluntary organisations and companies will become subject to 24/7 surveillance. No court order is needed and you won’t be told anything about the information extracted and how it is used or abused. There is no right of appeal.

The source of latest rush towards totalitarianism is the misleadingly titled Data Protection and Digital Information Bill. It has been passed by the House of Commons where the government used its big majority to stifle debate. It is now going through the House of Lords.

The attack on civil liberties is dressed up as a fraud prevention measure, but the government is unable to provide relevant data. The government claims that mass monitoring is needed to check benefit fraud, estimated to be around £6.4bn a year or 2.7% of the total benefit payments. Under the Social Security Fraud Act 2001, the government can request information from bank accounts on a case-by-case basis, if there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud. This is being replaced by mass surveillance of bank accounts. A Minister told parliament that “proportionately fraud in the state pension is very low”, and was unable to provide any financial numbers but the government will place 12.7m retirees under surveillance.

The government claims that mass surveillance would reduce fraud by £600 million over the next five years though this somehow became  £500m during the debate in the Commons, i.e. £100m-£120m a year. To put this into context, during 2023-24, the government spent £1,189bn.

Financial institutions will be paid unspecified millions to conduct mass snooping and look for cash flow sources and patterns or the level of savings, and flag people exceeding thresholds for benefits. There is a danger that gifts to loved ones to buy clothes or a new bed could be counted as income, and result in loss of benefits. The inherent assumption in the Bill is that information generated by IT systems would be correct. The Post Office scandal shows that computer generated information isn’t necessarily correct, and can lead to injustices. Neither financial institutions nor the Department of Work and Pensions will owe a ‘duty of care’ to any injured party.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2024/04/the-governments-plans-for-unlimited-surveillance-on-benefit-claimants-bank-accounts-should-worry-us-all/

Continue ReadingThe government’s plans for unlimited surveillance on benefit claimants’ bank accounts should worry us all