Disabled people should not pay the price of Labour’s spending cuts, the leader of the UK’s biggest trade union has warned.
During a visit to Newcastle on Thursday, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea warned the Government that Rachel Reeves’ controversial squeeze on welfare would not grow the economy.
The Chancellor confirmed major reforms in her spring statement this week that are expected to save £4.8 billion in 2029/30, through measures like tightening the eligibility for personal independence payments (Pip) and halving the health-related element of universal credit for new claimants and freezing it at that level until 2030.
Lower income households are expected to become £500-a-year poorer over the next five years due to benefit cuts and a weak economic outlook, according to analysis by the Resolution Foundation, while the Government’s own forecast predicts that the changes will push a further 250,000 people into poverty – including 50,000 children.
Ms McAnea, who was on Tyneside to see Newcastle City Council sign the Disability Employment Charter, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It is really disappointing that the mood music seems not to have changed and we are being told it is disabled people or people on benefits who need to pay the price of the economic crisis the Government has been left with following 14 years of Tory rule. It wasn’t disabled people, it wasn’t people on benefits who caused that economic crisis and they shouldn’t be the ones to pay the price for it.”
UNISON has called for the Chancellor to rethink her fiscal rules and borrow more money to invest in public services.
While the Government has insisted its plans will get more people into work, Ms McAnea added: “The key thing is that people should be encouraged and given support to get into work – that is how you grow the economy. You don’t grow the economy by going after people who through no fault of their own, for very good reasons, aren’t able to work at this point in time but may be able to if they had that extra support from Pip, other benefits, or from the support they get from their employer or other sources.”
The charter signed by Newcastle City Council leader Karen Kilgour on Thursday morning sets out actions that the government and employers can take to improve the lives of disabled people by removing barriers in the labour market and in workplaces.
The Labour cllr told the LDRS that the local authority was committed to help its disabled staff “as far as we can” to ensure they can remain in work and that its welfare rights and social care teams “stand ready to support people in any way they can”.
Some 370,000 people on disability benefits are expected to lose on average £4,500 per year in 2029/30 as a result of the changes, the Government’s impact assessment says.
Asked how her council and North East mayor Kim McGuinness could deliver on aims to slash child poverty in light of the latest cuts, Cllr Kilgour replied: “I think we have to operate in an arena with global uncertainty as well as national change, so clearly that has an impact. But as a city we are really confident that there are huge investment opportunities, that there will be real growth in the city in the coming years. We are determined that we will work with investors and partners to make sure that growth is inclusive and we will do everything we can to ensure we lift as many children out of poverty as possible and that we support as many people into good work as we possibly can. I genuinely believe that the future is bright for Newcastle.”
Appearing to reject the official forecast about her plans, Ms Reeves said on Thursday that she was “absolutely certain” her welfare reforms will not push people into poverty.
The Chancellor told Sky News: “I am absolutely certain that our reforms, instead of pushing people into poverty, are going to get people into work.
“And we know that if you move from welfare into work, you are much less likely to be in poverty.
“That is our ambition, making people better off, not making people worse off, and also the welfare state will always be there for people who genuinely need it.”
