Commenting on the 2017 Spring Budget, Disability Benefits Consortium Policy Group Co-Chair Phil Reynolds said:
‘Today was a missed opportunity to put a stop to damaging cuts to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and reassure disabled people and those with long-term conditions that they will receive a fair deal if they need additional support in future.
Alongside MPs from all parties, we have warned that the disastrous £1500 per year cut to ESA for new claimants in the Work Related Activity Group and the equivalent benefit in Universal Credit will push them further from work and closer to, or deeper into, poverty.
Proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will leave at least 150,000 disabled people without vital financial support in future. We’re extremely concerned that these unnecessary regulations undermine the principle of the PIP assessment.
Thousands of disabled people will be bitterly disappointed that the Government has not used today’s Budget to scrap these damaging and unnecessary cuts.’
Disability Benefits Consortium 