500,000 Disabled People Could Lose Out Under Universal Credit

Up to half a million disabled people and their families - including children and disabled adults living on their own - will be worse off under Universal Credit if current plans go ahead, finds an inquiry led by Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and supported by The Children’s Society, Citizens Advice and Disability Rights UK.  Disabled people and their families warned that cuts to the child disability additions and to the Severe Disability Premium are likely to result in them struggling to pay for basic essentials such as food and heating.

Many disabled people who are already finding it difficult to make ends meet face further hardship under the new benefit system, leading to potentially disastrous consequences. This includes up to 230,000 severely disabled people who do not have another adult to assist them getting between £28 and £58 less in support every week. The inquiry report, ‘Holes in the safety net: The impact of Universal Credit on disabled people and their families’ also reveals that:

    *100,000 disabled children stand to lose up to £28 a week.

    *116,000 disabled people who work will be at risk of losing up to £40 per week from help towards additional costs of being disabled.

Read more on the Disability Rights UK website.