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UK News

Christian MP warns Universal Credit reform could further push disabled people into poverty

by Eno Adeogun

The MP for Birkenhead is the chairman of the cross-party Commons Work and Pensions Committee who have called on the Government to take urgent action to avoid vulnerable people being forced into "miserable hardship".

Mr Field said: "The Government's plans will see 'very' disabled people getting the extra help they need at the cost of other disabled people."

 

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) removed disability premiums - worth up to £64 a week to help pay for the additional costs of living with a disability - under Universal Credit.

Existing claimants who already receive the premiums will be protected under a process called "managed migration", but the top-ups will not be available to new claimants, the MPs said.

"We have already seen the terrible cost of the department's failure to find out what is happening to the most vulnerable claimants in the transition to Universal Credit," Mr Field added.

"People receiving the disability premiums are already, by definition, managing in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable in our society, and this includes disabled children, and children forced to care for a disabled parent.

"It would be a terrible betrayal of these people to allow another failure of planning in this mega reform to worsen their situations, even one bit.

Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

"No-one should ever be forced further into poverty, deprivation, miserable hardship by a policy reform. The Government must assure disabled people across this country that will not happen to them, and plan and put the measures in place to make that promise good."

A spokeswoman for the DWP said: "More than a million disabled people will be better off by £100 a month under Universal Credit and £3 billion of funding will help protect families as they move over from the old system.

"Universal Credit does work for the vast majority, and the Managed Migration regulations are set to be debated in Parliament in due course."

The Work and Pensions Secretary has since hinted the rollout of Universal Credit could be delayed.

Amber Rudd's told a group of MPs she's keeping an open mind about the pace at which people move across from six former welfare payments to the new all-in-one system.

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