The Conservative government had made a series of proposals ahead of the general election to slash the welfare bill and drive people into work – including replacing personal independence payments (PIP) with one-off grants and vouchers for some people and tightening eligibility criteria.
A consultation into the proposals for PIP ended in July and the government is currently reviewing the responses. Stephen Timms, the minister for social security in the DWP, said that the government will consider its “own approach to social security in due course”.
It is also set to become more difficult to get the health element of universal credit, which is awarded to people with mental and physical health conditions who have limited capability for work.
Figures published by the DWP show that planned changes to the work capability assessment, 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.
Anwar added: “If this government truly wants to move away from the punitive blame culture that dominates today’s benefits system, it must start by scrapping these plans.”
There are currently 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness in the UK, and the welfare bill is expected to soar in coming years.
Kendall said: “I do not think it’s sustainable when you’re seeing those levels of increases, but we can do something about it.”
The work and pensions secretary promised that the DWP will support people into work by reforming Jobcentres to make them about helping people rather than using punitive tactics.
“We will need big reforms and big changes,” Kendall said. “I know people worry about this, but I want to say, we are on your side. We are not going to write you off and blame you. We take our responsibilities seriously. We’re going to bust a gut to give you the support you need to build a better life.”
James Taylor, executive director at the disability equality charity Scope, said: “It’s positive to see the government wanting to distance themselves from divisive, harmful rhetoric around benefits. And ending ‘salami slicing’ cuts which achieve nothing but making life much harder for disabled people.
“There are a million disabled people in the UK who want to work, but are denied the opportunity because of employers’ negative attitudes, delays getting the right support and inflexible working practices.
“The government needs to back up these words by tackling these issues head-on and working with disabled people to fix our broken benefits system.”
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