Rachel Reeves has been warned that swingeing benefit cuts pose a severe threat to the lives and livelihoods of disabled people in the North East. Dozens of protesters gathered around Grey’s Monument in Newcastle city centre.
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00:00On Wednesday, dozens of protesters gathered around Grey's Monument in Newcastle City
00:05Centre to protest these cuts, which include tightening the Eligibility Criteria for Personal
00:09Independence Payments, or PIP, and halving the health-related element of Universal Credit
00:13for New Claimants. This measure will freeze the health-related component until 2030. While
00:19the government maintains that these cuts are part of efforts to encourage more people into
00:23work, evidence suggests that they could actually do the opposite, driving an additional 250,000
00:27people, including 50,000 children, further into poverty. Hannah Frost, a member of Disabled
00:33People Against Cuts and Crips Against Cuts, spoke at the rally, expressing her deep concerns
00:39that the cuts would not only strip disabled people of vital financial support, but also
00:43exacerbate the pressure on an already overstretched social care system. Frost, who uses a wheelchair
00:49and has hypermobile ADS, explained that the additional funds she receives through PIP
00:53are essential for her to manage her condition. Another protester, Leanne Robson from Framlin
00:59Inn, shared how the announcement of these cuts had significantly impacted her mental
01:03health. She pointed out that these cuts would worsen the pressures on public services that
01:07are already struggling to meet demand. In her response, Chancellor Rachel Reeves acknowledged
01:12the concerns, but defended the government's approach, arguing that it was necessary to
01:17push more people back into work to reduce poverty in the long term. She pointed to the
01:21government's plan for a premium payment for the most severely sick and disabled individuals
01:26as a means of targeting support to those in greatest need. She referred to the government's
01:31focus on increasing support for those transitioning from welfare to work through record investment
01:37and employment programmes, which will offer guaranteed, personalised and targeted support
01:41to help individuals find and retain jobs.