Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to protect disabled people claiming welfare payments from expected cuts to the benefits system.The health and disability-related benefits bill is now £65bn a year and projected to increase to £100bn over the next four years, with research suggesting rising levels of mental ill health are behind the figures.The government is identifying cuts to the welfare budget ahead of the Spring Statement, with the PM working to rally MPs to support the move.Sir Keir was challenged at PMQs by Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and Labour’s Richard Burgon, who said disabled people were “frightened” and suggested “the moral thing to do” would be to introduce a wealth tax.Expected cuts could fall on Personal Independent Payments (PIP), which provides help with extra living costs to those with a long-term physical or mental health condition, and cuts to incapacity benefits for people unable to work and receiving Universal Credit (UC).Speaking at PMQs, Sir Ed asked the prime minister to confirm that disability benefits for people who cannot work would not be cut. Sir Keir said: “We will of course support those who need support, but help those who can work into work. They’ll be the guiding principles.”Later, Labour MP Burgon said that when disabled people “hear the language of tough choices… it means the easy option of of making the poor and vulnerable people pay”, and said the “courageous” thing to do would be to introduce a wealth tax.Sir Keir responded that the Conservatives had “locked millions out of work” and there …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnSir Keir Starmer has been urged to protect disabled people claiming welfare payments from expected cuts to the benefits system.The health and disability-related benefits bill is now £65bn a year and projected to increase to £100bn over the next four years, with research suggesting rising levels of mental ill health are behind the figures.The government is identifying cuts to the welfare budget ahead of the Spring Statement, with the PM working to rally MPs to support the move.Sir Keir was challenged at PMQs by Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and Labour’s Richard Burgon, who said disabled people were “frightened” and suggested “the moral thing to do” would be to introduce a wealth tax.Expected cuts could fall on Personal Independent Payments (PIP), which provides help with extra living costs to those with a long-term physical or mental health condition, and cuts to incapacity benefits for people unable to work and receiving Universal Credit (UC).Speaking at PMQs, Sir Ed asked the prime minister to confirm that disability benefits for people who cannot work would not be cut. Sir Keir said: “We will of course support those who need support, but help those who can work into work. They’ll be the guiding principles.”Later, Labour MP Burgon said that when disabled people “hear the language of tough choices… it means the easy option of of making the poor and vulnerable people pay”, and said the “courageous” thing to do would be to introduce a wealth tax.Sir Keir responded that the Conservatives had “locked millions out of work” and there …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
