The House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee is undertaking a short inquiry into the proposals in the Pathways to Work Green Paper which seeks to impose drastic cuts on benefits.
Possibly in view of the short time available and the deluge of responses they would be likely to receive, they are not putting out a call for evidence, so it will not be possible for readers to contribute.
The aims of the committee are:
- to explore the issues with the social security system the Green Paper is seeking to address;
- to explore the evidence of the impacts of welfare changes on poverty and employment;
- to explore the experience of sick and disabled people of the current welfare system and their views on the impacts the changes could have on them; and
- to explore the link between health status and worklessness, and the potential impacts of the welfare changes on health status.
Committee Chair Debbie Abrahams said:
“While the Chancellor undoubtedly must respond to financial challenges, there are legitimate concerns regarding the proposed changes to our social security system which would lead to a cut in support for more than three million sick and disabled people and their families, especially if these cuts happen before employment opportunities emerge. It is therefore vital that there is full examination of the evidence of the likely impacts this will have on poverty and employment, as well as the health of sick and disabled people. Our social security system is meant to provide a safety net to support people, so that they are protected from poverty. But we know that there are already 14.3 million people living in poverty, and half of them are sick or disabled people who are not properly supported by our benefits system. We must ensure that new social security policy addresses this.”
UPDATE 8 APRIL
The Guardian reports that Abrahams will call Department for Work and Pensions ministers to give evidence to its disability cuts mini-inquiry, due to be held over the next few weeks. It will focus on the impact of the changes on claimant health, employment and poverty.
Abrahams said “I wouldn’t want to use the language of revolt. But there are deep concerns. To be fair, DWP ministers are in listening mode, but this isn’t an issue that’s going away.”
She called on the government to pause the changes to ensure proper parliamentary scrutiny of all aspects of the green paper, including changes to PIP eligibility, which ministers insist are not up for consultation.
