Government benefits plan 'keeps me up at night'

A Belfast woman with cerebral palsy who receives health and disability benefits says controversial plans to change the current system keep her up at night with worry.

Joanne Sansome, who uses a wheelchair and is in assisted living, said Labour's plans were a "smokescreen".

The proposals involve changing eligibility criteria for the personal independence payment (Pip) and the health element of universal credit (UC).

However, the move has proved controversial, with Sir Keir Starmer facing the biggest rebellion of his premiership to date.

The government laid out major concessions to the bill in the hope of defusing rebels after more than 120 backbenchers threatened to vote down the government's plans.

Northern Ireland MPs have also said they will vote against the bill later on Tuesday.

• Live updates: MPs debating welfare reforms as Starmer braces for revolt

Speaking to BBC News NI as the debate got under way, Ms Sansome said it "doesn't seem to matter who's in power as disabled people are always hit hardest".

She said she understood concerns about the current welfare system but said changes needed to happen "with us, not without us".

Ms Sansome receives Pip and under the planned changes will continue to receive it, but she said the government's handling of the issue meant she did not trust Labour over it.

"What's to say they won't down the line decide to take benefit off me temporarily if they decide to change things again, could we be reassessed under the same conditions as new claimants?

"The government is failing us on so many levels. I worry not just for myself but for people who can't voice their concerns. Some young people might be lucky and have good parents to fight for them, but until we're all equal, nobody is equal."

The benefits system is devolved in Northern Ireland but in practice the Stormont administration mostly copies what is happening in England and Wales.

The Northern Ireland Executive does not have the resources to mitigate Labour's plans, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has said.

Andrew Hamilton, from Bangor, County Down said the proposed bill was a "clear attack on disabled people".

The disability rights activist said the Labour government's proposals, if passed, would have "a devastating impact on disabled people".

Mr Hamilton, who has cerebral palsy and receives Pip, told Good Morning Ulster: "The system needs to be more user-centric, it needs to be more focused on what the disabled person can do," he said.

"To get people back into work they need to put measures in where disabled people aren't discriminated against and employers are supported."

Mr Hamilton, who founded the Just Include UK campaign group, said the government bill was "not the answer".

"Pip supports many disabled people to continuing working, the cost of transport to maintain employment," he said.

"The government needs to support people instead of trying to take away stuff."

Matthew Taylor, a mental health campaigner, has concerns young people with mental health issues will find it tougher to claim benefits like Pip.

He described the payments as a "massive lifeline" that allowed people to access support privately while on a waiting list.

"There are much better ways of doing this than putting the changes on the backs of disabled people," he said.

"The government is engaging in a campaign of stigmatising mental health and disabilities - but Pip is for additional needs.

"Using this language of wanting to get people 'back into work' ignores the fact it is not a work-related benefit."

He said the changes, which would tighten eligibility criteria in future, would create a "two-tier system" that would have negative effects for children and young people as they grow up.

The Democratic Unionist Party MP Gregory Campbell told Good Morning Ulster that while the government's position has "changed slightly" he will vote against the proposed bill.

"The marginalised and the people who are going to be most directly affected are going to be impacted very negatively by the government's proposals," he said.

"I think the overall welfare budget has to be addressed."

He added that he did not believe anyone could argue against bringing the "massively increasing amount of payments" made to the entirety of welfare benefit "under control", but said it should not be done "at the expense of the most marginalised and disadvantaged".

He added "people want to see a bigger crackdown on those who abuse the system".

Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Claire Hanna said the bill "puts the fiscal horse before the employment cart".

"There are reforms that would support people with employment but they haven't been done yet," the Belfast South and Mid Down MP said.

Hanna said that in England an employment bill has just passed but one in Northern Ireland was "not even out of the traps".

"Devolution is about using the powers that we have to protect people here."

Hanna said it will be an "economic shock" for those in Northern Ireland as there is a higher claimant rate than the rest of the UK.

"It is going to take the political structures here to step up and support people."

Following the concessions made by the government, people currently receiving Pip, or the health element of UC, will continue to do so.

However, the planned cuts will still affect future claimants.

Pip includes a daily living component and a mobility component. Claimants may be eligible for one or both.

The assessments involve questions about everyday tasks, with each scored from zero - for no difficulty - to 12 - for most difficulty.

From November 2026, the government says people will need to score at least four points for one activity to qualify.

Existing claimants who request a reassessment after November 2026 - for example, because of worsening health - will be considered under the new rules.

More than three million UC recipients have no requirement to find work due to their health, a number that has risen sharply.

The basic level of universal credit is £400.14 a month for a single person aged 25 or over.

But if someone has limited capacity to work because of a disability or long term condition, this payment more than doubles, because of an incapacity top-up worth £423.27.

Under the government's proposals, claimants will no longer be eligible for this until they are aged 22 or over.

New claimants will also see this top-up fall from £97 per week in 2025-26 to £50 a week by 2026-27, before being frozen until the end of 2029-30.

The government had planned to freeze the higher rate for existing health-related claimants but this will now rise in line with inflation.

The basic payment level for universal credit will rise to £106 a week by 2029-30.