Advertisement
Social Justice

DWP disability benefit cuts will impact 450,000 people – but very few will actually find paid work

Forecasts show that the DWP’s disability benefit cuts will not have the intended results of pushing people into work

Disability benefit cuts that are expected to affect more than 450,000 people by 2029 will only lead to 15,400 more people finding paid work, according to official forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). 

Figures published last week by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that its planned changes to the work capability assessment (WCA), which are due to come into effect next year, will lead to lower benefits or higher work-search conditions for around 457,000 people by 2028/29. 

But OBR forecasts published on the same day predict the changes will see just 15,400 more people move into paid work in that time – despite the measures supposedly being introduced in order to help people into work.

The WCA scores applicants based on their ability to perform certain activities. Applicants who score highest are placed in the LCWRA (limited capability for work related activity) group. Those scoring below the highest levels, but still enough to qualify for support, are placed in the LCW (limited capability for work) group. Those who score low receive no disability payments under universal credit and are expected to look for work. 

The DWP has proposed three changes to the WCA. First, mobility problems will no longer be enough by themselves to qualify for the LCWRA group. The DWP expects this to affect 260,000 people by 2028/29, who would receive lower benefits and would have to undertake work-related activity as a result. The OBR predicts just 8,800 more people will find paid work as a result of this move.  

The second change is that difficulties getting between two places will score lower in relation to the LCW group. An expected 33,000 people will be hit by 2028/29, receiving no universal credit disability payments and being subjected to intensive work search conditions and possible sanctions. The OBR predicts this will lead to 1,500 more people finding work. 

Advertisement
Advertisement

Finally, the substantial risk regulations, under which people whose mental health would be harmed by undertaking work-related activity are instead placed in the LCWRA group, would only apply in exceptional cases. 163,000 people are expected to be impacted by this change by 2028/29, with the OBR predicting 5,100 more people will find work in that time. 

Some disabled people would get hundreds of pounds a month less under these reforms than they would at the moment. The measures will not affect existing claimants, but they would impact those applying for the first time from next year, and also anyone who comes off the benefit but then later reapplies for it. 

“I’m kind of in and out of work, depending on what level of distress I’m experiencing,” said Ellen Clifford of Disabled People Against Cuts, who is currently in the LCWRA group. The proposed changes to the substantial risk regulations mean if she reapplied for benefits in future she could find herself in the LCW group instead.

“Although it says you wouldn’t have to do any mandatory activity, it does say that you’ll be under a work coach. And I don’t have that stress now. And actually what I find is that I’m doing the campaigning work, and I’m getting bits of paid work through that. So I’m slowly getting back to work. But that’s because I’ve got the safety net of that extra income, and not the stress of having to engage with a work coach.”



Clifford is bringing a judicial review of the DWP’s consultation exercise regarding its proposals. “One of the things I really struggle with is having to attend appointments. Because I can be so anxious, it takes me an unpredictable amount of time before I can get up and washed and dressed and leave the house.

“And I know that the Jobcentre is very strict with appointment times. And even if I wasn’t subject to sanctions, it would still be the fact that I’m having to push myself to engage with someone. It’s just those kinds of things that I find hold me back from being able to get on with trying to progress back into employment.” 

Advertisement

James, who is 47 and whose name has been changed to protect his identity, worked for ten years as a manual labourer in retail and logistics. Years of pushing large crates around ended up damaging the Achilles tendon in both his feet, leaving him struggling to walk ten metres and having to use a mobility scooter. He also has mental health issues. He is now in the LCWRA group. 

“Realistically, if the training etc was there, I’ve got another 20 years in me. But that assistance isn’t there to enable me to do that,” he told the Big Issue. 

The DWP justifies its disability benefit cuts on the basis that disabled people can take advantage of the rise of work-from-home jobs. But James said the problem is the employers themselves.  

“At this precise moment, I and most disabled people feel that the Equality Act is no more than a bit of paper. There is no enforcement there. As far as companies taking people like me on, even working from home, goes, it’s normally non-existent. Partly because of that one piece in the legislation that says ‘reasonable adjustment’. Now in legal terms, there is no definition of ‘reasonable’. So it just goes out the window. They don’t want to know at all.” 

For the last four years James has been the disability officer at his constituency Labour Party branch. In that role he has got to know hundreds of disabled people across the area, inside and outside the party. He says only one of them has managed to find work. 

Louise Murphy, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation think tank, said: “The government has announced a wide range of benefit reforms and wider consultations over the past year – which is understandable given the alarming rise in economic inactivity and uptick in claims for health- and disability-related benefits in recent years.

Advertisement

“While some proposals are very open-ended, others are more concretely geared towards saving money. The planned reforms to the work capability assessment fall into the latter camp, as restrictions over eligibility will inevitably cause cash losses of up to £416 per month for some individuals.” 

A DWP spokesperson said: “We are taking the long-term decisions to help everyone who can work to do so, improving lives and growing the economy, while maintaining protections for those who need them. 

“Our landmark welfare reforms will cut the number of people due to be put onto the highest tier of incapacity benefits by over 424,000 and instead give them personalised support to help them move closer to employment, while our Chance to Work Guarantee will enable millions of people to try work without fear of losing their benefits.”

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? We want to hear from you. Get in touch and tell us more.

Advertisement

Buy a Big Issue Vendor Support Kit

This Christmas, give a Big Issue vendor the tools to keep themselves warm, dry, fed, earning and progressing.

Recommended for you

Read All
'You want it to be magical for your kids': Here's how the two-child benefit cap is ruining Christmas
Two-child benefit cap

'You want it to be magical for your kids': Here's how the two-child benefit cap is ruining Christmas

Millions of pensioners in 'desperate need' lose winter fuel payment: 'We fear what will happen'
pensioner with his head in his hands
Winter fuel payment

Millions of pensioners in 'desperate need' lose winter fuel payment: 'We fear what will happen'

Universal credit advance payment: Bridging the five-week wait
a person handling £20 notes in front of a cash machine / universal credit advance payment
Benefits

Universal credit advance payment: Bridging the five-week wait

DWP wants to reform benefits to cut costs, not help disabled people into work, court hears
dwp's liz kendall
Disability benefits

DWP wants to reform benefits to cut costs, not help disabled people into work, court hears

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue