News

Liz Kendall's response to Inquiry!

what's this guy on?

From Dan bloom on twitter:

“NEW: Details on PIP/UC disability benefit cuts ✂️
I hear a bill could be introduced next week, suggesting "second reading" vote is in the week of June 30 or later
It's likely to be tightly focused on the cuts, while other welfare reforms will come only later in the year.
This will concentrate Labour MPs’ anger, but could also allow the government to classify it as a “money bill” — meaning it would be made law within a month of being sent to the House of Lords even if peers still object.
Officials have also held talks about putting the bill through a “committee of the whole house,” preventing lengthy evidence sessions with experts and campaigners. One insider argued: “You rip the plaster off, otherwise it just drags out for longer.”

https://www.politico.eu/article/missions-impossible-can-starmers-cabinet-get-behind-his-plan/ “

So what does this tell us?

I think labour ministers either think the standard legislation route and getting a standard bill type through would be too close for comfort or they’d lose

To fast track the bill (by making it a money bill) is the labour ministers playing dirty and cheating in a way and suggests they don’t think they can ‘win’ in this gov vs disabled ‘battle’ playing out ‘fair & square’ (something to half smirk about)

But if it does become a money bill it speaks huge volumes as gov reasoning for welfare cuts and reforms being driven primarily to help disabled into employment officially blows up and become total bull

I hope the gov using these lowbrow tactics finally opens a real legit legal route to challenge all this in court

Labour higher ups can’t be allowed to get alway with this by ‘fixing the deck’

DPAC letter to Timms:-

Letter to Stephen Timms: urgent concerns over disability cuts consultation failures

Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) has today written to Stephen Timms, the Minister of State for Social Security and Disability, to raise our serious concerns with the quality and fairness of the so-called “consultation” being carried out on disability benefit cuts.We are asking for the consultation to be extended, and for urgent action to address the failings.We urge the government start again on welfare reform, listening to disabled people and carers in a genuine process of co-production.This is what we said in our letter:

    Dear Stephen Timms,

    I am writing to you on behalf of Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) to urgently raise concerns regarding the accessibility of the consultation on the benefits cuts proposed in the March 2025 Green Paper. In light of the limited time available for the consultation which is due to close on 30 June 2025, you are asked to take urgent action to address our concerns, confirm what steps are being taken and to extend the time available for disabled people to engage with the consultation given the accessibility issues they have faced to date. In order for the consultation to fulfil its purpose. Disabled people who are likely to be affected by proposed benefits changes, must have a proper and meaningful opportunity to engage with the consultation and accessible arrangements must therefore be urgently made to facilitate their proper participation in the consultation.

    Our concerns

    The face-to-face consultation in Cardiff on the 3rd June was cancelled less than two days after the venue was announced, with only one working day left before the event.

    The DWP has claimed that the Cardiff venue cancelled the meeting at the last minute yet the venue itself was already inaccessible to disabled people. No transport to the venue was offered by the DWP for those who wanted to take part.

    The booked venue was only revealed at the last minute. This was despite disabled people asking multiple times, over weeks, for information so that they could plan journeys, accommodation, and access requirements. The venue was far out of the centre of Cardiff, and completely inaccessible for many disabled people, especially at such short notice. It would have meant a wheelchair user travelling 1.6 miles unassisted. Shockingly this was the only face-to-face consultation event for the whole of Wales.

    People at other DWP consultations in England have had similarly poor experiences. For example, lack of accessibility of the venue led to only 9 out of 15 people managing to attend the in-person consultation event in the South West.

    The in-person consultations did not cover the North of England – Carlisle and Newcastle were completely missed out. For Wales, the North and South are poorly connected so any meaningful consultation would require not just an event in the South but another in the North.

    In Northern Ireland no face-to-face consultations appear to be taking place at all and the date of the online consultation was only announced last week.

    We have also received concerning feedback about the online consultations and the understanding of those conducting the meeting. One attendee reported:

    It was also clear that not all participants fully understood the consultation questions or their implications, particularly those without background knowledge of the benefits system. This raises significant concerns about the quality and reliability of the feedback being gathered. At one point, the facilitator was unable to explain New Style ESA or JSA, and I had to step in to clarify how these benefits work, especially for those who do not qualify for income-related support. It was concerning to witness such a knowledge gap from someone facilitating a consultation on welfare reform.

    Although we were told that all feedback would be recorded — even on topics not officially included in the consultation — it is unclear how that information will be used or whether it will influence policy development in any meaningful way.

    The impact of the failure to make arrangements for accessible and meaningful consultation meetings

    Only having online consultations and/or not having sufficient and/or accessible face-to-face consultations is unacceptable because, as I’m sure you’re aware, at least one-third of disabled people do not have access to the internet or the skills needed to take part in an online meeting. This obviously means that many people who will be most affected by the Government’s planned cuts to social security payments will be totally excluded from taking part in any consultation events.

    We are concerned that the consultation not only doesn’t deal with many of the policies that are most likely to affect disabled people (as it only deals with 12 out of 22 policies) but fails to properly engage disabled people on those limited topics. We are also concerned that full impact assessments which would inform engagement with the consultation are not available and will not be made available during the course of the consultation.

    The whole process to date seems inaccessible, chaotic and incomplete and given how few people are being consulted, both virtually and in person, we are extremely concerned about how representative this process is and whether it meets even the most basic standards of engagement with disabled people and their advocates.

    Furthermore it is DPAC’s view that the whole process is flawed and is non-compliant with Articles 4 (3) and 33.3 of the UN CRPD and General Comment 7.  It also violates the Gunning Principles and the requirements to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act and is therefore potentially unlawful.  The only meaningful remedy is to withdraw the proposals and meaningfully engage with disabled people and our representative organisations to ensure all government proposals are compliant with the UN CRPD and equality legislation and ensure progressive realisation of the articles as well as compliance with equality duties.  Failure to address these flaws may result in legal action and sanction from the disability committee of the UN.

    It is essential that the government start again on welfare reform, listening to disabled people and carers in a genuine process of co-production.

    In light of the concerns outlined above and the limited time available, we invite you within 7 days i.e.  by June 16th to confirm:

    1.     What steps are being taken to ensure that online and in-person consultation events are accessible and available to affected disabled people across all relevant regions. This should include ensuring accessible venues, across a range of regions as well as adequate notice to allow for attendance arrangements to be made.;

    2.     That the time for engagement with the consultation will be extended by at least 4 weeks, to reflect the delays in making accessible arrangements and allow meaningful engagement with disabled people.

    We look forward to your response by June 16th.

     

    Linda Burnip

    On behalf of the DPAC steering group

    c.c. Debbie Abrahams, Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee,

    Katie Farrington, Director General Social Security, Disability and Pensions

    Helga Swindenbank, Head of Disability Services

Sorry, me again:

'the last year has become a cautionary tale: ministers elected to repudiate Tory austerity are now seen to be replicating it – and voters have noticed, with Labour’s poll numbers sliding as a result.'

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/09/the-guardian-view-on-labours-tough-choices-they-are-costing-the-government-dearly

Oh dear Eddie my luv, do you really want to strap yourself to this embarrassing news story? When the decision to cut the WFA has actually resulted in increasing government expenditure on pension credit?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c79e0qq3r31o

**Version 4 – Countdown to the June vote (updated June 10th)**

This is not just a list—it’s a movement.  

As the clock ticks down to a crucial vote that could strip vital support from hundreds of thousands of disabled people, a powerful coalition has formed. From disability campaigners and unions to charities, faith leaders, public figures, and MPs—voices from every corner of society are uniting to say: enough is enough.  

With time running out, the question is urgent: when will decision-makers truly hear the depth and breadth of this outcry?

Together, we refuse to let the rights and dignity of sick and disabled people be dismantled.  

Every name here stands as a testament to courage and solidarity.  

Share this list. Amplify these voices.  

Because history will remember who stood up—and who stayed silent—when disabled people needed us most.

---

**Disability and Advocacy Organisations**  

Scope, Disability Rights UK, Inclusion London, Inclusion Barnet, Disability Sheffield, Community Integrated Care, NSUN, WinVisible, Crips Against Cuts, Disability Benefits Consortium, Mencap, Sense, RNIB, RNID, National Autistic Society, Leonard Cheshire, Business Disability Forum, Disability Positive, VoiceAbility, VODG (Voluntary Organisations Disability Group), Stay Safe East, Three Guineas Trust, Fightback4Justice, Benefits and Work, Disability News Service, Action on Disability (AoD), POhWER, Disability Can Do, ME Association, Action for M.E., #MEAction UK, 25% ME Group, MS Society UK, MS Trust, Rethink Mental Illness, Well Adapt, DPO Forum England, Black Triangle Campaign

**Charities Supporting Marginalised Groups**  

Age UK, Independent Age (older people)  

Contact, Council for Disabled Children (families with disabled children)  

METRO Charity (intersectional/LGBTQ+ and disability)

**Homelessness and Poverty Charities (joint letter to Liz Kendall)**  

St Mungo’s, Crisis, Shelter, YMCA, Homeless Link, Centrepoint, The Passage, Thames Reach, Depaul UK, Single Homeless Project, Justlife, Hope Housing, The Connection at St Martin’s, Groundswell, Turn2us, Joseph Rowntree Foundation

**Food Poverty and Anti-Poverty Networks**  

The Trussell Trust, Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN)

**Faith-Based Organisations**  

Church of England (Archbishop of York, Bishop of Leicester), Together for the Church of England, Quakers in Britain

**Advocacy and Rights Groups**  

Citizens Advice SORT Group, Minority Rights Group, Campaign for Disability Justice, Carers UK, Carers Trust, Coalition Against Benefit Cuts, Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, Trust for London, Liberty, Justice, Amnesty International

**Trade Unions**  

PCS, Unite Community, BFAWU, TUC (publicly endorsed the #TakingThePIP campaign at the June 2025 Disabled Workers’ Conference), Scottish TUC, Equity (moved the emergency motion against the cuts and mobilised its members to campaign), Musicians' Union (seconded the motion backing #TakingThePIP), National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Cardiff Trades Union Council, Trade Union Coordinating Group (TUCG), University and College Union (UCU)

**Disabled People’s Campaigns and Activists**  

DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts), Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People (GMCDP), #TakingThePIP campaign, Elaine Clifford, John Pring, Michelle Cardno (Fightback4Justice), Steve Donnison, Holiday Whitehead (Benefits and Work), Joy Dove, John McArdle (co-founder, Black Triangle), Samuel Miller (advocate and disability justice campaigner)

**Public Figures**  

Liz Carr, Rosie Jones, Ruth Madeley, James Taylor (Scope), Martin Lewis (MoneySavingExpert), Cherylee Houston, Kim Tserkezie, Daniel Monks, Jack Hunter, Neil Duncan-Jordan, and others

**Arts and Cultural Institutions**  

National Theatre, Graeae Theatre Company, Equity, Disability Arts Online, Disability Arts Cymru, University of Atypical for Arts and Disability, Disability Arts International (DAI), Arts & Disability Ireland

**House of Lords Advocates**  

Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench), Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat), Lord Holmes of Richmond (Conservative), Baroness Sherlock (Labour), Lord Shinkwin (Conservative), Lord Touhig (Labour)

**Journalists and Media**  

Frances Ryan (The Guardian), May Bulman (The Independent), Disability News Service (led by John Pring), The Canary, Novara Media, Prospect Magazine, LabourList, The Guardian, The Independent, ITV News

**International and Human Rights Organisations**  

UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – Previously found “grave and systematic violations” of disabled people’s rights in the UK due to austerity and welfare reform since 2010  

UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) – Called for “corrective measures” to address welfare changes harming disabled people — though not yet specifically referencing the 2025 PIP proposals  

Amnesty International – Condemned welfare changes affecting disabled people as human rights violations

**Parliamentary and Political Opposition**  

Over 170 Labour MPs, Diane Abbott, Andy Burnham, Sadiq Khan, Rachael Maskell, Steve Witherden, Ros Jones, Leeds West and Pudsey CLP, Debbie Abrahams MP

**Parliamentary Groups**  

All-Party Parliamentary Group on Disability (Chair: Marsha de Cordova MP)

**Legal Support and Advice Services**  

Disability Law Service (DLS), Public Law Project (PLP), Leigh Day, Bhatt Murphy, Aoife O’Reilly (solicitor), Tom Royston (barrister), Liberty, Justice

**42 Labour MPs Who Signed the Opposition Letter**  

Diane Abbott, Paula Barker, Lee Barron, Lorraine Beavers, Apsana Begum, Olivia Blake, Richard Burgon, Dawn Butler, Ian Byrne, Stella Creasy, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Cat Eccles, Barry Gardiner, Mary Glindon, Sarah Hall, Chris Hinchliff, Imran Hussain, Terry Jermy, Kim Johnson, Mary Kelly Foy, Peter Lamb, Ian Lavery, Brian Leishman, Emma Lewell, Clive Lewis, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Rachael Maskell, Andy McDonald, John McDonnell, Abtisam Mohamed, Grahame Morris, Charlotte Nichols, Simon Opher, Kate Osborne, Richard Quigley, Andrew Ranger, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Zarah Sultana, Jon Trickett, Chris Webb, Nadia Whittome, Steve Witherden

---

**Public Opinion Speaks:**  

The vast majority of people in the UK do not support cutting disability benefits. Polls show most believe these reforms are about saving money, not helping people into work—and that they risk pushing more disabled people into poverty. When it comes to supporting those who need it most, the public is clear: enough is enough.  

(Sources: More in Common, Community Care, Ipsos)

The positive spin on this is that Unions are against this, to my knowledge many high profile Unions support Labour, many MP's support us and won't go silently into the night, DPAC do take notice and they do care.