Reforms to the benefits system that the Mental Health Foundation called ‘counterproductive and cruel’ have been partially curtailed following concessions by the UK government ahead of a vote on the measures.
The UK government has agreed to remove Clause 5 from the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (UC & PIP) Bill, which means the bill will no longer affect eligibility for PIP.
However, the UK government has indicated that it may revisit the implementation of these measures following the ‘Timms review’ of the welfare system.
The bill also continues to contain measures which would reduce the amount of money an individual receives from the ‘health element’ of Universal Credit, and would limit access to this benefit to those over the age of 22.
Mark Rowland, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said:
“Tonight’s concessions by the UK government are a victory for not just the millions of people across the country who are disabled, but for every single one of us who may find ourselves disabled one day. Removing Clause 5 is clearly the right decision given the lack of evidence these measures would encourage anyone with a mental health problem to return to work, and the very clear risk of pushing people into poverty, worsening their mental health. Despite this, this bill remains deeply flawed.
“We remain concerned by the measures in this bill which both reduce the amount paid to recipients of the health element of Universal Credit, and limits its eligibility to those over the age of 22. These measures are discriminatory, and will do little to support people back into the workplace. The UK government should drop the implementation of these measures too.
“Nobody doubts the need to help the rising number of people with mental health problems recover, and to reduce the number of people who are too unwell to work, but the UK government’s original proposals were never going to do that. The Timms review, which we look forward to contributing to, will need to be bold, progressive, and focus on shaping the benefits system to help people not only recover, but live a dignified life whether they can work or not."