Disability Benefits Cuts Should be Delayed
04 Feb 2018
Cuts in disability benefits should be delayed until the government clarifies how it will support those in need of extra money, a group of MPs has said.
The Work and Pensions Select Committee found there was little evidence that lower payments would motivate disabled people to find work.
The allowance is set to be reduced from £102 to £73 per week from April.
Ministers have argued that savings would be invested in a new support package for the most vulnerable.
The committee said evidence supporting the idea that introducing a lower rate of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) would enhance incentives to work was “ambiguous at best”.
It welcomed a decision to make some severely disabled claimants exempt from repeated reassessment for ESA but said it had deep concerns about assessments proposed in the recent work and health green paper.
The committee said ministers should consider using incentives such as reductions in National Insurance contributions to encourage employers to employ people with disabilities.
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