On the eve of the controversial Spring Statement, the Times has reported that chancellor Rachel Reeves could be about to announce even more cuts to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits – to the tune of £1.6 billion
In short, it seems that Reeves and her DWP counterpart Liz Kendall got their maths wrong – to the utter detriment of chronically ill, disabled, and non-working people. As the Times reported:
Rachel Reeves will announce further welfare cuts after the budget watchdog told ministers their benefits reforms will save £1.6 billion less than planned.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) rejected the Treasury’s £5 billion welfare savings estimate in a row that will heighten tensions between Labour and the independent forecaster. It instead put the value of the cuts at £3.4 billion.
This of course comes after Kendall announced that the cuts to both Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit’s Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) element were worth £5bn over the course of this parliament.
Cruelty from Kendall
As the Canary previously reported, Kendall announced that the rate of DWP Universal Credit standard allowance for new and existing claims would increase by a whole seven pounds in 2026. Current claimants will have their health element frozen at £97 per week until 2030, while new claimants will receive just £47 per week – down from £97.
However, the way this is being assessed will also change. It will become part of the PIP assessment to, as Kendall said:
be based on the impact of disability on daily living, not on capacity to work.
Crucially however, this would mean that the claimant would have to qualify for PIP too as well as Universal Credit, though there’s no clear timeline as to when WCA and DWP PIP will be merging, as it will require legislation to do so.
Kendall insisted however that anyone deemed unfit for work before 2026 and remains on LCWRA wont lose their health element or see their entitlement change.
However, PIP will also be harder to claim, with Kendall announcing that disabled people will now have to score four points or more on any particular part of the daily living section, meaning for example it would’ve been enough that you can’t wash your torso, now you will only qualify if you can’t wash your lower half. While being incontinent if its due to loss of bowel or bladder control would qualify, you won’t if you can get changed unaided after shitting yourself.
What are the new DWP cuts?
Yet none of this has been enough according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
So, what more hell is there to come?
Well, the Times is reporting that Universal Credit LCWRA element for new claimants will now be frozen until 2030 rather than increased in line with inflation. This is on top of the £50 reduction that was already announced. There will also be a small reduction in the basic rate of universal credit in 2029, after Kendall increased it by £7 a week.
The Times said:
The two measures will raise about £500 million by 2030.
It is not just the Times reporting it either:
Exc- hearing that the OBR has scored the welfare reforms significantly lower than the govt hoped- with net savings of £3.4bn rather than £5bn. As @Smyth_Chris also hearing. Sounds to me like OBR somewhat sceptical about size of savings. Why? 1/
— Anushka Asthana (@AnushkaAsthana) March 25, 2025
DWP cuts and chaos: unconscionable
So, Reeves and Kendall are still £1 billion short – and there is so far no indication of where this will be made up from. It may well be that further changes will be made to PIP – because ITV is reporting that the OBR thinks the measures Labour want to introduce will not work.
In a society that alleges it prides itself on fairness and compassion, it is unconscionable that the government continues to target disabled people in its austerity measures. Moreover, there was already weeks of cruel and distressing uncertainty surrounding the DWP cuts.
Now, Labour has just compounded that – all because Rachel Reeves is not fit to be chancellor.
Featured image via the Canary
