Received from: TUC Trades Union Councils Conference
This conference notes the Labour government’s spring statement published 18 March 2025 attacking disability benefits.
This conference recognises:
i. up to 1.2 million disabled people will lose between £4,200 and £6,300 a year by 2029–30. Plus, the carers who will lose carer’s allowance.
ii. recent NEF analysis of the impact of the planned cuts shows £6.7bn would be taken directly out of the pockets of disabled people
iii. £23bn benefits and passported entitlements goes unclaimed annually.
iv. over half of the 16 million people living in poverty have a disability
v. attacking PIP will make it even harder for people to meet the extra costs of having a disability including those already in work.
This conference instructs the TUCJCC to campaign to oppose the attacks on disability benefits to demand:
a. a fully resourced, supportive social security system
b. opposition to government scapegoating of claimants and shift the focus onto employment rights and tackling employers’ discrimination, low pay and poor working conditions as set out in the TUC Welfare Charter
c. full support for young people’s right to access disability benefits
d. removal of assessments from fat-cat providers and return to public sector delivery in the DWP with a complete overhaul to support claimants
e. opposition to government plans to make entitlement to the health component of UC totally dependent on the award of PIP removing the specific support which addresses the impact of disability on being able to work
f. opposition to the four points requirement for PIP which will slash entitlement for new claimants and at the review stage
g. a completely voluntary approach for disabled claimants to access fully staffed support to find work
h. a halt to target-driven approach in 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
i. 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
j. 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.
TUC Trades Councils Conference