Xiaohongshu
The Government’s Department for Work and Pensions has announced plans to drastically cut disability benefits. These major changes to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) system and other disability benefits, could profoundly affect the lives of millions of students across the country.
The government has published a green paper, proposing changes to disability benefits which plan to cut disability benefits by £5billion a year.
The governments plans to make several changes, including:
1. Proposing to scrap the Work Capability Assessment for Universal Credit which currently evaluates a person's ability to work to determine eligibility for incapacity benefits and replace it with a single assessment focused on how a person's disability affects their daily life, rather than their fitness to work.
2. Tightening the eligibility for PIP, with a higher threshold for someone to qualify. The Government said people who only score the lowest points on each of the assessed daily living activities “will lose their entitlement in future”. This will likely make it harder for people with certain conditions to qualify for support, including mental health conditions.
3. Delaying access to the health top-up in universal credit until someone is 22-years-old. Under the proposed changes, people under 22 years old would still be eligible for the basic Universal Credit payment, but not the extra amount that recognises their limited ability to work due to health conditions. This change would likely reduce the total benefits received by young disabled people under 22, potentially affecting their financial independence and ability to cover additional costs related to their conditions.
As students, we are deeply concerned about how these changes will impact disabled students now and in the future. While many students can access Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) and university support through Statements of Reasonable Adjustments (SoRA), these forms of support are only focused on academic needs. PIP supports disabled people with the extra costs of daily life, like help at home, mobility outside of study, and essential living needs. Without this support, many disabled students will face huge financial barriers to completing their education and living independently.
According to research from the Russell Group Students’ Unions (RGSU), disabled students are already among those most negatively affected by the cost-of-living crisis. The report also found that disabled students were more likely to go without food and less likely to feel they could continue their studies due to financial pressures. Further cuts to essential financial support will only deepen these inequalities.
Welfare and Community Officer, Rachel Lim, said:
"These proposals will have a devastating effect on the lives of so many. Disabled students are already facing significant financial challenges. We urge the government to listen to students and reform the benefit system, increasing investment and support for people applying. We are ready to start this conversation with Government as soon as possible."
LGBTQ+ officer and member of the Disability Network, Danilo Paganelli said:
"I am so devastated to hear about the government's proposed cuts which will significantly negatively impact millions of disabled people and endanger lives. We urgently call on the government to reverse this decision and commit to supporting disabled people in whatever way they can. We in the Disabled Students Network are going to do whatever we can to support our disabled community in and outside of UCL."
Students' Union UCL has written an open letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and contacted our local MPs, Keir Starmer and Uma Kumaran, to raise urgent concerns about the impact of these proposals on our student community.
NOTES TO EDITORS
- Students' Union UCL is a charity, led by students, which exists for the advancement of education of students at UCL for the public benefit.
- We represent approximately 50,000 students from more than 150 countries who study at UCL.
- We allocate more than £200,000 per year to students needing financial support. Details on our financial support schemes can be found here.