AT LEAST 440,000 people in disabled households will be forced into severe hardship should the Government press ahead with its proposed cuts to disability payments, Trussell has warned.
The foodbank charity commissioned WPI Economics to assess the effects of the government reforms to disability benefits, outlined in the Spring Statement (News, 28 March). In its briefing, published on Monday, WPI reports that changes to the entitlement rules for Personal Independent Payments (PIP) are projected to lead to 800,000 people losing their Daily Living component, with an average loss of £4500 a year. Three million claimants are expected to lose out because of changes to Universal Credit.
The basis of projections comes from the Family Resources Survey and Households Below Average Income data for the financial year 2022/23.
Trussell defines hunger and hardship as a median being between “deep poverty” — living 50 per cent below the poverty line, and “very deep poverty” — living in a household with an income (after housing costs) that is equivalent to less than 40 per cent of the UK median (News, 11 October 2024).
Its most-recent Cost of Hunger and Hardship report, also conducted by WPI, estimates that this is costing the Government £75 billion a year in additional public services and other costs (News, 2 May).
More than half the people living in hunger and hardship are living in a household that included someone with a disability, Trussell reports. The WPI briefing acknowledges that the impact on overall levels of hunger and hardship is partly offset by a reduction in the number of people in hunger and hardship among families that do not include a disabled person. It warns, however, that the Government’s proposed £7 billion cuts to support for disabled people are likely to undermine the fiscal goal of increasing employment and will drive higher costs for public services.
WPI reports that, even before the projected cuts, the ongoing failure to tackle hunger and hardship is costing an additional £3.7 billion a year on public services.
Trussell has urged the Government not to continue down “this damaging path”, calling on the planned increase to the basic rate of Universal Credit to be brought forward so that this comes into full effect from April 2026 rather than April 2029.
The director of policy at Trussell, Helen Barnard, said: “The Government was elected on a promise of change, and with the commitment to end the need for foodbanks. If the Government goes ahead with these ill-considered and cruel cuts to Social Security, this promise will not be kept and instead, they will risk leaving behind a legacy of rising poverty and hunger.
“Tackling fiscal challenges should not be done at the expense of people already facing hunger and hardship. We urge the Government not to continue down this damaging path.”
Last month, Trussell reported that its centres had distributed more than three million emergency food parcels in the year to March (News, 23 May). The findings of the WPI briefing are presented alongside case studies from its foodbanks.
Zoe Nixon, director of Newquay Foodbank, in Cornwall, said: “We see disproportionately high numbers of food bank visitors who either have a health concern or disability, or have caring responsibilities for someone with a disability in their household. Life simply costs more for disabled people.
“Social Security payments do not allow people to afford the essentials, and this is amplified when you live in a rural community. We fear that once these cuts are forced through Parliament, we will see more households being forced to access our help.”