Motion: Oppose Disability Benefit Cuts
Peterborough Trades Union Council (PTUC) notes the Labour Government’s Spring Statement published 18th March 2025, attacking disability benefits.
PTUC recognises:
• Up to 1.2 million disabled people will lose between £4200 and £6300 a year by 2029-30. Their carers will also lose Carers Allowance.
• A recent New Economics Foundation (NEF) analysis of the impact of the planned cuts shows that the planned cuts will remove £6.7 billion directly from the pockets of disabled people.
• £23 billion benefits and passported entitlements go unclaimed annually.
• Over half the sixteen million people living in poverty have a disability
• Attacking Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will make it significantly harder for people to meet the additional costs of having a disability, including for those already in work.
PTUC instructs affiliates and delegates to campaign to oppose the attacks on disability benefits and to demand:
• A fully resourced, supportive social security system.
• Opposition to government scapegoating of claimants.
• A shift in focus onto employment rights and tackling employers’ discrimination, low pay and poor working conditions as set out in the TUC Welfare Charter.
• Full support for young people’s right to access disability benefits.
• Removal of assessments from fat-cat providers and return to public sector delivery in the DWP with a complete overhaul to support claimants.
• Opposition to government plans to make entitlement to Universal Credit (UC) dependent on the award of PIP, removing the specific support which addresses the impact of disability on being able to work.
• Opposition to the four points requirements for PIP which will slash entitlement for new claimants at the review stage.
• A completely voluntary approach for disabled claimants to access fully staffed support to find work.
• A halt to the target-driven approach in Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) and put the emphasis on getting a quality decision right at the outset to reduce the hardship and lengthy time taken to dispute and appeal decisions.
• Investment in public services including the NHS, social care, and crisis services to alleviate the impact of poverty and highlight how the disability benefit cuts will increase pressure on these vital services.
• To build support for the TUC Disabled Workers’ Committee to organise a demonstration and lobby of Parliament in support of these demands and for the TUC to organise a weekend demonstration against Labour austerity as a launchpad for sustained trade union action in defence of workers and young people.
June 2025
