The Green Paper Discussion (the document link is here too!)

independence payments Credit: House of CommonsEthan CroftSunday Political Correspondent22 March 2025 6:00pm GMT

Labour’s proposed benefit cuts will be investigated by a human rights watchdog for potentially breaking equality law.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has said it is considering whether the plans set out by Liz Kendall to cut disability benefits comply with the Equality Act.

A spokesman for the EHRC said: “The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) must consider the equality impact of the proposed benefit reforms on disabled people.

“The public sector equality duty (PSED) requires government departments to have due regard for how their policies and decisions affect people with protected characteristics.”

The Work and Pensions Secretary’s proposals include cuts to disability benefits and a higher age cap for claimants.

Ms Kendall announced on Tuesday that the eligibility age for the health and disability component of universal credit would rise from 18 to 22.

The age of eligibility for personal independence payments (PIP) may also rise from 16 to 18.

She also announced the Government could cut universal credit disability benefits almost in half from April 2026, which she aims to balance with a rise in the standard allowance element of universal credit.

Ms Kendall has delayed publishing equality impact assessments of the policies, which are required by law, until after the Chancellor’s fiscal statement on Wednesday.

Advertisement

The assessments are expected to show that over 2 million people will be affected by the cuts. They will also give an estimate of how many will be pushed into poverty by Ms Kendall’s reforms.

An EHRC spokesman said the watchdog is considering the green paper, including “its wider implications for people with protected characteristics”.

The watchdog has previously criticised the Government for delaying equality impact assessments for political convenience.

Last year Chancellor Rachel Reeves was accused of “breaking rules” by refusing to release an impact assessment of the cuts to winter fuel allowance.

The assessment, later disclosed under Freedom of Information laws, showed seven in 10 disabled pensioners would lose the allowance.

Ms Reeves was later reprimanded by the watchdog for providing an “insufficient” impact assessment of National Insurance changes which disproportionately hit women workers.

The release of the welfare reform impact assessments could spell trouble for Ms Kendall’s reforms.

She has already faced a wave of discontent about the cuts from Labour party colleagues, including senior Cabinet ministers.

Any potential watering down of the cuts as a result of the impact assessments will now come after the Chancellor’s fiscal statement on Wednesday.

This means that the promised £5 billion of cuts to welfare should be factored into the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast of the country’s economic performance.

On Wednesday the Chancellor will respond to the OBR’s latest forecast.

Ms Reeves is preparing to make swinging public spending cuts in order to save her economic project amid expectations of the country’s economic growth falling by half.

The projected cuts to benefits are expected to form one part of this wider effort to balance the books.

The EHRC is currently undertaking a wider investigation of the DWP’s practices after concerns were raised about its compliance with equality law under the last government.

An EHRC spokesperson said: “As Britain’s equality regulator, we are currently undertaking an assessment of the DWP’s compliance with the PSED under Section 31 of the Equality Act 2006.

“This robust enforcement action involves assessing the department’s compliance with the duty when developing, implementing and monitoring policy guidance related to health assessment determinations for people with learning disabilities or long-term mental health conditions.

“We are also undertaking an investigation over concerns about the treatment of these disabled benefits claimants – focused on whether the DWP failed to make reasonable adjustments during those health assessment determinations.”

Join the conversation

I’m glad this is happening. What I think is disgraceful is Starmers background as a lawyer, he knows or should know this is an infringement on peoples rights and protected characteristics yet has gone ahead with it anyway which puts his whole integrity and imo leadership into question. If he’d have run on a manifesto of taking benefits from the disabled and sick and sweeping cuts to departments he wouldn’t have been voted in so it shouldn’t be allowed to go ahead at all

I wish we could contact Michael Sheen and ask him to stick up for the disabled. I wouldn’t know how to contact him though and if he would even read a letter etc.

And go through they will. It's disgraceful. But we don't have enough MP'S to fight our corner.

And I must say Catherine, given how awful and dangerous these proposals are, the disability charities have really let us down this week.

There has been NO PUSHBACK OF ANY NOTE FROM THE ORGANISATIONS THAT CLAIM TO BE FOR THE DISABLED. JUST A FEW VERY LACKLUSTRE STATEMENTS.

Its a limbo period.

What appears to have happened is Kendall and Timms called a meeting with MP's to basically stop a rebellion later on, then they opened the floor to comments and basically every MP

said they had been flooded with messages from mild to very abusive stating long term voters will never support them again, new MP's who barely won got angry saying they were not elected on a platform like this and the meeting then went even worse when one asked was the story true Reeves is planning on more welfare cuts this coming week, Both Ministers apparently refused to answer and that's when MP's shouted they would not vote in favour.

Starmer seems confused, If the role of an MP is just to vote for whatever the leader wants

it makes this form of governance a total waste of time, MP's are there to convey back to the Govt exactly what the people who voted for them are saying. I really am getting the vibe from Starmer he's acting like a President = vote against me I kick you out.

Trade unions refusing to stop supporting Labour are part of the problem. Just one of many reasons the British left are strategically and politically inept.

Yup....starmer is a dictator.

I can't see the Tories getting in anytime soon unless reform implodes. I can see reform/ lib dems swallowing most of their votes they hope to get back in the next election. Just about the only political good news is seeing them where they belong, as an irrelevance.

@HollisMcBobbery Then, I can only assume people are expecting Reform UK to amend their views on welfare between now and next election.

Their manifesto last year was, imo, even worse than the Labour proposal.

Here's a copy of their 2024 manifesto pledge as posted on B&W:

Reform UK election manifesto: welfare benefits promises

 Published: 17 June 2024

Reform UK has published its manifesto today.  It has less than half a page of text on benefits, under the heading “The Benefits System is Broken” and featuring a slogan of “In Britain, if you can work, you must work.”

On PIP and the WCA, Reform says: 

Face to Face, Not Remote Assessments for Benefits

Personal Independence Payment and Work Capability Assessment should be face to face. We will require independent medical assessments to prove eligibility for payments. Those registered with severe disabilities or serious long-term illnesses would be exempt from regular checks.

When benefits and work carried out a poll of readers two years ago on what sort of PIP assessment they would prefer, the results were:

• Paper 59% 
• Phone 20%
• Face-to-face 20%
• Video 1%

So this is a move that would be unpopular with the majority of Benefits and Work readers

The remainder of the text is devoted to raising the starting point for tax to £20,000 a year and an aim “Motivate up to 2 million People Back to Work”.

Reform say that:

“Reforms to benefit support and training will help people back into work. Particular focus on 16-34 year olds. Employment is critical to improving mental health. Tax relief for businesses that undertake apprenticeships.”

The manifesto goes on to warn that:

“All job seekers and those fit to work must find employment within 4 months or accept a job after 2 offers. Otherwise, benefits are withdrawn.”

You can download a copy of Reform UK’s manifesto from this link.

Anyway, it's possible some people will be too focused on ensuring immigrants don't receive benefits to care if their own family/neighbours are also 'punished'. Btw, imo, that's the route MAGA took in the US, and look at them now …. all up in arms about their welfare/healthcare disappearing along with anything immigrants get (which is very little from what I understand)! 🙄