Minister refuses to rule out additional profit cuts amid backlash over cuts to incapacity funds – UK politics stay | Politics
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The Guardian has right this moment printed this text by Brian, a single father with psychological well being points who receives Pip, who explains why he’s alarmed concerning the incapacity profit cuts introduced yesterday.
Starmer claims nobody with ‘situation meaning they will by no means be capable of work’ will lose out from incapacity profit cuts
In his article within the Occasions concerning the incapacity profit cuts, Keir Starmer makes a daring declare – that no person with a situation which means they’ll by no means work will lose out. He says:
Our reforms are guided by three rules. First, in case you can work, you must. Second, if you wish to work, the federal government ought to help you to make {that a} actuality. Third, if you’ll by no means be capable of work due to your sickness or incapacity, the state ought to make it easier to to get by with safety, dignity and respect.
So, no person with a situation meaning they may by no means be capable of work will lose out from our modifications. Nor will they need to endure the indignity and concern of countless reassessment – that requirement shall be scrapped.
If Starmer can persuade disabled those that that is true, then a lot of the opposition to what the federal government is doing would diminish. However, from the response we noticed yesterday, it’s clear that disabled folks, and the charities that symbolize them, don’t imagine that that is right.
A lot of the financial savings are going to come back from the federal government tightening eligibility for Pip (the non-public independence fee), a incapacity profit that covers the additional prices folks incur as a result of they’re disabled and that’s paid to folks each in work and out of labor. Yesterday the Decision Basis thinktank stated these modifications would value as much as 1.2 million folks between £4,200 and £6,300.
Talking on the At present programme this morning, Ruth Curtice, the inspiration’s chief govt, stated:
The federal government haven’t given us a quantity for what number of shall be affected, and since they’ve made fairly an in depth change to the system, we are able to’t inform precisely who shall be affected.
I feel it might have been good if the federal government had instructed us yesterday, however given what they’ve instructed us about how a lot they’re planning, the Decision Basis estimate it’s round one million people who find themselves dropping their entitlement to Pip fully ..
You may consider £5bn as small or massive, relying in your perspective – getting these from one million people implies that for these people, it’s actually important revenue loss.
Welfare invoice continues to be growing however cuts make it ‘sustainable’, says minister
Good morning. Keir Starmer and his staff acquired by means of the announcement yesterday of incapacity profit cuts price £5bn with out whole Labour meltdown – nobody has resigned from the federal government but – however backbenchers had been broadly sullen and unpersuaded, and the battle to implement these modifications is barely simply beginning.
Right here is our in a single day story, by Kiran Stacey, Pippa Crerar and Jessica Elgot.
Patrick Butler, the Guardian’s social coverage editor, has an evaluation right here.
And Archie Bland has a superb general uspum of the place we’re in his First Version briefing.
Starmer has written an article for the Occasions defending the cuts (extra on that quickly), and Stephen Timms, the social safety and incapacity minister, has been giving interviews this morning. His first was on Occasions Radio, the place Kate McCann shortly highlighted one of many the reason why that is perilous territory for Labour. Timms stated that, even with these cuts, the welfare invoice was nonetheless going up; however these measures made the rising value “sustainable”, he argued. So McCann requested if the federal government was ruling out additional profit cuts in future. Timms replied:
The proposals had been set out in full yesterday. We’re going to be tabling laws to implement quite a few these modifications. We’re going to be consulting over a full 12-week interval on among the proposals that we made yesterday. And we’re decided to get this positively proper.
McCann tried once more:
Can we simply be very clear, although – are you ruling out coming again for extra from the welfare invoice?
And Timms replied:
Who is aware of what is going to occur within the subsequent 5 years?
Certainly. And we’re not going to seek out out right this moment. However we are going to hear what Starmer has to say in subsequent three hours, when Starmer takes PMQs.
Right here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Matt Hancock, the previous Tory well being secretary, offers proof to the Covid inquiry has a part of its module PPE procurement.
Midday: Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.
After 12.30pm: MPs debate Lords amendments to the invoice placing up employer nationwide insurance coverage.
3pm: Martin Lewis, the buyer champion and founding father of MoneySavingExpert.com, offers proof to the Commons vitality firm.
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