NRAS’ further response to disability cuts from the Spring Statement

The news around benefit changes have been a significant story over the last few weeks with many changes being announced. This has been an incredibly difficult time for people living with disabilities and many feeling scared about their future and how this will impact them.

We believe that the announcements are finalised with the publication of the government’s Green Paper “Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working” and the Spring Statement and other financial impact assessments. We have had an opportunity to consider what the cuts are and how these changes will affect individuals in our community.

As Peter outlined in NRAS’ initial response to the proposals (linked above) we remain concerned about the impact that these changes will have on disabled people across the UK and specifically the impact for those living with RA and JIA.

The proposals outline the potential for individuals to have their current benefit entitlement ended or significantly reduced. This is particularly concerning for those in receipt of PIP where the average loss would be £4,500 per year. It is expected that 370,000 people will no longer be eligible for the benefit on review and 430,000 people in the future would not be eligible under the new rules.

We are particularly concerned about the requirement for individuals to score more than 4 points in one category under the new assessment criteria for PIP.  Many individuals who have contacted us are concerned because they have not scored more than 4 points in a singular category under their most recent assessment. The current rules are to accumulate points across the different areas, for example scoring low points across a number of areas would mean someone is eligible. The current point threshold is 8 points across all questions for the standard rate and 12 points across all questions for the higher rate.

For those living with RA and JIA, the impact on your life can be widespread, and the current assessment criteria allowed for you to show this across multiple different areas including tasks like cooking, bathing and dressing. This means that there will potentially be a group of individuals who score more than 12 points under the new criteria on assessment overall,  but under new rules would not be eligible for any financial support unless they score 4 in one category. We do not agree with the government’s assertion that this is “focusing support on those with the highest needs”. An individual with widespread needs should be afforded the same rights as someone who scored very highly in just one category. There is a risk that removal of this financial support will put further pressure on local authority resources and the NHS which are already at breaking point.

For years, charities have been calling for the government to change the PIP assessment criteria questions as it is felt that it doesn’t accurately reflect the needs of disabled people in our communities. The government in these plans are not intending to change the criteria but simply make it even harder to obtain.

It is not agreed that the changes to PIP will support people to get back into work. PIP is not a work related benefit and many individuals who claim PIP are in employment. PIP replaced Disability Living Allowance and is a benefit according to the government website for “help with extra living costs” for those with a long term physical or mental health condition or disability. It is widely accepted that for people with disabilities life is more expensive. In 2023, Scope assessed that the ‘disability price tag’ was an additional £1,010 per month to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households.

The further changes in respect of Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance through the Work Capability Assessment could be a double whammy for some individuals. The suggestion that the assessment for PIP would become the gateway for the health element of Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance means that if you are ineligible for PIP because of the new rules, you would further miss out on the additional money from the health element. This could result in some people losing out on £97 per week in addition to the PIP cuts.

We know from recent surveys that that over half of people with Inflammatory Arthritis are in work (a further 20% retired) and we welcome the government’s suggestion that they will work with employers to ensure that workplaces are supportive of disabled people and those with long term health conditions. However, it is important to ensure that people are not being pushed into employment at the detriment of their health or being left financially vulnerable if they are unable to obtain suitable employment. 

Overall, we are also concerned that many of the changes suggested by the government are not going to be consulted on. That means that individuals and organisations representing disabled people are not able to comment on the impact that these changes will have or influence any changes to policy. NRAS is committed to advocating for those living with RA and JIA and are working with other organisations to look at avenues for campaigning against these changes.
 
 
Note to editors
In a recent survey (October 2024) 37% of people with Inflammatory Arthritis living in Wales were in receipt of PIP but only 14% of people said they were unable to work because of sickness or disability.

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