Charities react to government's welfare reforms

Charities have shared their concerns after the government announced its plans for welfare reform yesterday (18 March).

Liz Kendall, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, announced a series of measures during her speech on Tuesday lunchtime, including tighter qualifying criteria for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and a freezing of incapacity benefits at £97 from April next year, alongside a longer-term reduction to £50 for new applicants.

Kendall also announced an end to the Work Capability Assessment from 2028.

Charities have expressed concern over how the reforms will impact those who use their services.

Vivienne Francis, chief of strategy and public affairs at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), noted that, “although [our] worst fears were not realised today, tightening the qualifying criteria for PIP will cause alarm – and will have a very real impact on blind and partially sighted people who don’t meet these.

“Life costs more if you are blind or partially sighted, such as unavoidable costs like taxi journeys or assistive technology. We are clear that nobody living with sight loss should lose out on essential support that they need to live independently.”

Anita Plant, chief executive of the Partially Sighted Society, also emphasised that life costs more for those with disabilities.

“Although we agree that the current benefits system needs reform and support the idea of opening up opportunities for employment, our concern is that these reforms may inadvertently drive more people with sight loss into poverty,” Plant said.

She added: “The reality is that life with sight loss, or any disability, comes with significant additional costs. For many, the financial support provided by disability benefits is essential to cover these extra expenses.”

Francis also emphasised that the root cause of blind and partially sighted people remaining out of work needs to be addressed.

“Welfare cuts won’t work without equal focus on removing the very real barriers disabled people face when seeking employment,” she said.

“We know that there are 11,000 blind and partially sighted people wanting to work right now – with challenges from attitudinal to technological getting in the way.”

Francis added: “We want to see the UK Government work hand in hand with employers to overcome these and get people into work. That’s the real answer.”