Tories ‘have an issue over disabilities’ says Corbyn in benefits curbs attack

By David Hughes7th March 2017News EnglandDisabilities, Government / Politics, News England, Welfare Reform

Theresa May’s Government has an “issue” over benefits for disabled people, Jeremy Corbyn has suggested in an outspoken attack.

In a pre-Budget intervention, the Labour leader said ministers need to “think about the kind of society we are” as he condemned plans to tighten the rules on access to personal independence payments (PIPs).

The Government has committed to reversing a tribunal ruling which extended the disability benefit, but Mr Corbyn said ministers should rethink the plan.

A row over cuts to PIPs led to a Cabinet split in 2016, with then work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith quitting after a row with former chancellor George Osborne in the wake of the Budget.

Mr Corbyn raised the issue on the eve of Chancellor Philip Hammond unveiling his tax and spending plans.

He told the BBC: “They seem to have an issue over disabilities because last year they did try to remove the personal independence payments by £4 billion.

“They then reversed that cut after Iain Duncan Smith resigned a few days later and then agreed to carry on paying it, so there is a deficit built in to the budget already because of that.

“They then see this as a further opportunity to prevent the bill rising further; well, I think they just need to think about the kind of society we are, the way we support people.”

Ministers have defended the proposals for PIP claimants, insisting they would restore Parliament’s original intention.

A tribunal said PIP claimants with psychological problems who cannot travel without help must be treated like those who are blind, and those who need support to take medication should be assessed in the same way as those managing therapies like dialysis at home.

The Government has been accused of using the plans to reverse the legal rulings to strip benefits entitlements from more than 150,000 disabled people.

Mr Corbyn suggested that a rising bill for disability benefits was “part of the price of a civilised way of living” and that hikes to corporation tax could be needed to meet the cost.

Labour has already said it would not go ahead with the Government’s planned cuts to corporation tax, but the party leader hinted that the tax rate could be increased to fund benefits, public services and the NHS.

Challenged on how Labour would meet the estimated £3.7 billion cost of reversing the Government’s proposals, Mr Corbyn said: “I would start by not reducing corporate levels of taxation, I would continue by not reducing the level of inheritance tax. I would look at it as a cost that we all have to bear as a society for the benefit of all of us.”

He added: “Let’s start from the principle we should pay them, start from the principle that these people are entitled to that care and support and we have to raise the taxation to deal with it.

“We are also considering the level which we would raise corporation tax in order to raise more funds for public needs because we do need to fund education improvements as well as maintain a decent level of funding for those with disabilities and also of course properly fund our NHS and social care system.”

Disability charities stepped up pressure on ministers to abandon the planned changes to PIPs.

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive at the MS Society, said: “It’s wrong that the Government is attempting to push through these PIP changes. Less than a year ago we were promised that people who rely on disability benefits wouldn’t have any more support taken away.

“Changing the criteria so that ‘psychological distress’ won’t be taken into account ignores the fact that mental health problems often go hand in hand with, or as a result of, long-term physical conditions.

“Cognitive difficulties, anxiety and depression can be extremely debilitating for people with MS, and the support received through PIP makes a huge difference in combating these symptoms.

“We strongly urge the Government to scrap these changes. Living with MS is hard enough; it shouldn’t be made harder by a welfare system that doesn’t make sense.”

James Taylor, head of policy and public affairs at Scope, said: “We are concerned that the new unfair regulations could affect the amount of money disabled people receive and creates an unjust division between entitlements based on people’s impairments or conditions.

“Many disabled people will now be anxiously waiting to hear as to whether or not these tighter rules will affect their current PIP award.”

Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn was mocked on social media after posting a link to an old Labour petition protesting that “George Osborne has chosen to cut £3,500 on average a year” from disability benefits.

Twitter user Paul Singh said: “I don’t think Corbyn realises he’s ‘leader’ of the opposition let alone the fact that Osborne is no longer chancellor.”