Letter to MPs challenging Benefits Reforms

Dear [MP Name],

I am writing to you on behalf of WECIL (West of England Centre for Inclusive Living), one of the largest Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) in the UK and a trusted voice for thousands of Disabled people across Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset, and North Somerset.

We are extremely concerned by the Government’s recently announced disability benefits reforms, particularly the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) eligibility, the abolition of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), and cuts to the Universal Credit (UC) health element. These measures will not only fail to achieve their stated aim of supporting more Disabled people into employment—they will actively push hundreds of thousands into deeper poverty, worsening health outcomes, and increased reliance on already overstretched services.

A Historic Cut to Support for Disabled People

According to the Government’s own impact assessment, 3.2 million households containing a Disabled person will lose an average of £1,720 per year under these proposals. Some groups will fare significantly worse:

• 370,000 existing PIP claimants will lose the daily living component.
• 430,000 future PIP applicants will become ineligible.
• 730,000 new UC claimants will receive £3,000 less support annually.
• 150,000 carers stand to lose Carer’s Allowance or UC carer elements.

Meanwhile, young Disabled people under 22 will be entirely excluded from the UC health component, increasing the likelihood of early poverty and dependence.

While a limited consultation has been launched on certain aspects of the Government’s disability benefits reforms, the most far-reaching changes—such as the tightening of PIP eligibility criteria and reductions to the Universal Credit health element—are not subject to consultation. These two measures alone are projected to account for the largest financial losses to Disabled people, yet they are being pushed forward without engagement with Disabled people or our representative organisations. This approach has been widely condemned by Disability Rights UK, the Disability Benefits Consortium, and the New Economics Foundation, who point out that these changes are being made in direct contradiction of the principles of co-production and the UK’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Risk to Independent Living

As a DPO rooted in the Social Model of Disability, we know that financial support is not a handout—it is a critical enabler of choice, control, and independence – and a core means of equality for Disabled people. Cutting this support means that thousands will no longer be able to afford essential mobility aids, care support, or energy costs linked to their impairments. Many will be forced into institutional care, or back into the informal support of families already under strain.

Far from incentivising work, these reforms remove the very foundations that allow Disabled people to live, work, and participate in our communities. No increase to the basic rate of Universal Credit will offset the loss of targeted disability support for those who face structural barriers to employment.

PIP Is Not an Out-of-Work Benefit

One of the most troubling elements of the proposed reforms is the conflation of PIP—a non-means-tested, non-employment-related benefit—with out-of-work disability support. The proposal to scrap the Work Capability Assessment and determine entitlement to the Universal Credit health element solely on the basis of a person’s PIP award fundamentally misunderstands the purpose of PIP.

PIP is not and has never been an unemployment benefit. It exists to help meet the extra costs of being Disabled—regardless of whether someone is in or out of work. Many Disabled people rely on PIP to stay in work, using it to pay for transport, personal assistance, or other vital support. The Government’s proposal to scrap the Work Capability Assessment and instead link entitlement to the Universal Credit health element solely to PIP eligibility fundamentally misunderstands this. It risks penalising those with significant barriers to employment who, for various reasons, do not meet the narrow functional descriptors in the PIP assessment—particularly under the proposed new rule requiring claimants to score at least 4 points in a single activity. This arbitrary threshold will exclude many Disabled people with genuine and complex needs spread across multiple areas of life. The result is a dangerous precedent: individuals will be deemed “fit for work” not through an assessment of their work capability, but because they do not qualify for a benefit that was never designed to measure it. This will leave many without the financial protection they need.

A False Economy

The financial argument for these cuts is short-sighted and, in practice, self-defeating. By stripping away targeted support that enables Disabled people to live independently, the Government will drive increased demand for statutory services—including adult social care, NHS treatment, mental health provision, and accessible housing—at a time when local systems are already stretched to breaking point. Poverty does not create employment—it entrenches disadvantage and increases reliance on crisis services.

At WECIL, we are already seeing the impact. Just this week, I personally spoke to a member told us she will lose her PIP under the proposed changes because she does not score 4 points in any single daily living activity, despite having support needs across multiple areas. Without PIP, she will no longer be able to pay for essential assistance around the home and will be forced to seek statutory support through a Direct Payment from her Local Authority. But councils across the region—including Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset—are already running deficits in their Adult Social Care budgets. How will they meet this new demand, which the Government itself is generating by removing independent sources of support, when the Government is also under-funding local services?

The modest increases in employment support and the base rate of Universal Credit, while welcome, cannot compensate for the withdrawal of core disability-related financial support. Rather than lifting people into work, these cuts will remove the very stability that allows Disabled people to seek opportunities in the first place.

A Local Impact

These cuts will not be felt evenly—they will hit hardest in areas with higher rates of disability, poverty, and inequality. Our region already faces challenges in access to accessible transport, inclusive employment opportunities, and health and social care provision. Constituents across our area will be disproportionately affected.

As a regional DPO supporting over 7,000 Disabled people each year, we are already seeing a rise in enquiries from people distressed by the proposed changes and fearful of what they will mean for their futures. Our services are being overwhelmed by demand—and these reforms have not even been implemented yet.

What We Are Asking

We are calling on you, as a representative of your constituents and as someone committed to fairness and equality, to:

1. Oppose this bill in Parliament. The reforms must be halted and reconsidered.
2. Call for a full consultation with Disabled people and DPOs before any such changes are made.
3. Push for an impact assessment that centres on lived experience, not just fiscal metrics.
4. Champion policies that support inclusion and independence, not austerity.

We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss these concerns further, and to connect you with constituents and Disabled people’s groups who can speak to the reality of what these changes will mean on the ground.

At a time when we should be closing the disability employment and inclusion gaps, this bill risks setting progress back by decades. We urge you to take a principled stand and oppose these harmful reforms.

Yours sincerely,

Dominic Ellison
Chief Executive Officer