On 21 May Equity activists and staff joined a mass lobby at Westminster against the Government’s proposals to make devastating cuts to disability support. The lobby was organised by the Coalition Against Benefit Cuts, Disabled People Against Cuts and Disability Rights UK ahead of a parliamentary vote on the proposed changes to the social security system. The changes would see cuts to social security support including to disability support in the form of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and the health-related component of Universal Credit. Over 100 people attended and spoke with their MPs or their representatives to put forward their case on why the proposals need to be dropped.
Dan Edge, Equity Councillor for Deaf and Disabled members, was interviewed by the BBC at the event. He said: “There are many deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people that are worried about the reforms that are potentially going to happen to PIP and the only way we as the general public can stop that happening is to campaign and to pressure our MPs into saying this isn’t going to work.
“I’m fortunate that I’m able to come down here so I had to. I had to get a cab (from the train station due to lack of other accessible routes ) and there’s obviously more expense and that’s what PIP is supposed to cover, which is why these reforms are so dangerous and scary, because PIP is there to cover that extra cost of that cab I needed to get to be here and that could be removed.”
You can listen to Dan on iPlayer.
Currently, the cuts to disability support are still only proposals and we do not yet know which will eventually come into force and if so, where across the UK. Some but not all are open for consultation until 30 June 2025.
Equity strongly opposes the cuts and will be responding via the government consultation. You can find out more about the proposals and what they mean in our briefing for members and on the GOV.uk website.
You can write to your MP asking them to oppose the cuts using this template.
If you would like to contribute to Equity’s response to the consultation, please email Amelia Pratt apratt@equity.org.uk. If you would like advice on your personal situation and what the cuts might mean for you, please contact our Social Security & Tax helpline by calling 020 7670 0223 Monday and Thursdays 10 am – 1 pm and 2-5 pm or emailing helpline@equity.org.uk.
