Norwood chief executive Naomi Dickson has expressed concern about the impact of the government’s welfare reforms on people with neurodevelopmental disabilities who face cuts to their benefits.
In a statement released in response to radical changes to the welfare system announced by Work and Pensions minister Liz Kendall, Jewish charity chief Dickson said:” We are really concerned that the government’s plans to cut disability benefits will place substantial financial constraints on people with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
“People with significant disabilities already face increased costs in their daily lives to perform everyday tasks and to lead fulfilled lives. We regret that this latest round of welfare cuts will do nothing to achieve the government’s stated aim of supporting more people with disabilities into work and instead risks further marginalising them and hampering their prospects.”
Kendall announced £5 billion of savings on Tuesday which will come largely from changes to eligibility for the personal independence payment (PIP), but also from a reduction to the health element of universal credit.
Liz Kendall meets with JLC members
More than two million people are likely to see reductions in their income as a result of changes to incapacity and disability benefits and a million people are set to be affected by toughened tests to qualify for PIP, the main disability benefit.
The government faced criticism over the reforms outlined in the Green Paper, both from opposition Tory MPs, and from the left of Starmer’s party.
The Prime Minister defended the moves pointing to the 2.8 million working age people out of work due to long-term sickness.
He said: “By 2030 we are projected to spend £70 billion-a-year on working-age incapacity and disability benefits alone.
“But more importantly it has wreaked a terrible human cost. Young people shut out of the labour market at a formative age. People with complex long-term conditions, written off by a single assessment.
“People who want to return to work, yet can’t access the support they need. All this is happening at scale and it is indefensible.”
Norwood’s Dickson added: “We welcome the government’s commitment to supporting people with a range of disabilities into the workplace. We hope that this will translate into support to empower those that are able into appropriate employment that allows them to make a meaningful contribution and enriches our society as result. We add our voices to calls from our partners in the sector for the government to work with us to affect real change.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s Commons announcement, Paperweight, the leading Jewish charity providing free, practical support across a spectrum of legal, financial, welfare, post-bereavement and administrative matters, hosted Lady Elaine Sacks and David Pinto-Duschinsky, MP for Hendon and on Parliament’s Work & Pensions Committee, where welfare reforms were discussed.
Paperweight CEO Bayla Perrin said: “At a time when there’s uncertainty around benefits and the bar reportedly likely to be set a much higher level in the future for acceptance, expert, empathetic guidance has never been more essential to ensure an individual’s voice is heard, needs recognised and rights upheld.”
