As we look at the Spring Statement and how it affects disabled people, we need to look at the national context and figures. We also need to look at it in light of the Green Paper on disability benefits - which is linked to the Spring Statement. We also need to keep in mind elements of the autumn budget too, some of which are set to start on April 1.
Most people looking at all parts of it separately won’t see the effects of how each one intersects and causes problems - issues that I don’t think even the government has realised.
Let’s look at the changes to the disability elements of universal credit announced in the Spring Statement:
The Universal Credit (UC) health element will be frozen for existing claimants until 2029/30. In other words, they will lose half of it eventually anyway. And for new claimants, the support will be reduced to £50 a week in 2026/27 and frozen.
Just like the Green Paper, the driver for this is to get disabled people back into work. Aside from the fact there are many disabled people who cannot work and need this health element, we need to look at the figures around employment to see the issues:
1. Job vacancies in the United Kingdom decreased to 816,000 in January.
2. There are 1.55 million people aged 16+ unemployed in the UK. That means there are not enough jobs for everyone.
If as an employer you have this many people wanting a job, would you choose a disabled person? The facts prove that it is unlikely, as disabled individuals are twice as likely to be unemployed than their non-disabled peers. And if they do get a job, they are also 17.2% more likely to be paid less than their peers. That’s a problem, especially when you look at the Green Paper on disability benefits.
Let's look at the changes in the employer National Insurance contributions. This was in the autumn budget and comes into effect on April 1 but it was hoped it would be reversed in the Spring Statement. It wasn’t.
The Morning Advertiser sums up the cost of this and the rise of the national living wage as follows: “…the annual wage cost for a full-time employee working 38 hours per week will rise by approximately £1,031.58.”
How does this affect disabled people? Well, again you have to look at this side by side with the Green Paper. Disability charities that provide care can no longer afford to pay carers. As a result, many are closing down the care side of their work.
Cuts to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) mean less people will be able to qualify for the top rate of the daily living section because the bar has been set too high. If you don’t get PIP, you can’t apply for the carer’s allowance. This means that family members who are carers will need to get a job and find council-funded care for their loved one. This means more pressure on local governments that don’t have the money to care for them and therefore many disabled people ending up in hospital more regularly - at greater cost to the NHS.
The government and the press continue to put a spin on everything coming out to do with disability benefits, so I’ll close with some corrections to the ‘spin’.
“PIP and getting back to work”
This is not an out-of-work benefit. It is designed to help with the extra costs of having a disability (on average, over £1,000 more per month than those of a non disabled person). It should not be used as a whip to get people back into work. Lots of people claiming PIP work full time and don’t claim any other benefits. Losing it will mean not being able to work at all - and all in the name of ‘getting people back into work’.
“Those with higher needs will not be affected”
Yes they will. The new rules say you need “4 points” in one aspect of daily living. What they now consider 1 point has changed. It’s 2 points for needing someone to carry you into the shower. I think that makes the point very clearly!
“It might not happen”
That’s true - a Green Paper is designed to allow for robust debate and consultation. However, the consultation for this is not asking the right questions and not giving space to air concerns about the most problematic areas of the paper. Any request for better consultation is being cut off. Some elements are set to start in 2026, giving less time to consult. It still doesn’t stop disabled people struggling with it and it doesn’t stop the soaring hate crime rate.
“You can get a car for free”
Well, no. Anyone saying that knows nothing about the 50-page document you have to fill in, or what ‘points' you need to qualify for the higher rate mobility component of PIP. The benefit money for that goes towards the car (not towards other extra costs of living with a disability).
If you want to know more about how any of the cuts affect disabled people, please follow organisations like Scope and Mencap as sadly, for many reasons, it’s best not to take your information from Christian organisations unless they specialise in poverty or disability.
Please pray. Please write to your MP about these things. And please, check on any disabled friends to see how they are coping with what is unfolding at the moment.
