Failure to meet a commitment to increase benefits in line with inflation would result in disabled people “starving and freezing in their own homes,” a charity has warned.
as the Government wants to cut spending, neither Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, nor treasury minister Chris Philip confirmed whether benefits will be increased in line with rising inflation.
In May this year, then chancellor Rishi Sunak the said benefits would be upgraded by the September Consumer Price Index (CPI), subject to an assessment by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
Asked during a visit to Darlington whether benefits would be increased in line with inflation, Mr Kwarteng said: “It is premature for me to make a decision on that, but we are absolutely committed to ensuring that the most vulnerable in our society are protected by what could be a challenge.”
Mr Philp told ITV’s Robert Peston that the case is pending.
Under pressure, he said: “I am not going to make any policy commitments on live TV, it will be considered in the normal way, we will make a decision and it will be announced, I am sure to the House of Commons initially.”
Charities for children and the disabled urged the government to keep its promise, saying people need support “that is realistic and allows them to pay the bills”.
The Secretary of Labor and Pensions must annually review the amount of the benefits.
A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions said this will begin in the fall “using the most recent price and income indices available”.
An announcement of changes is usually made in November and will take effect in April.
The Social Security Administration Act 1992 provides that if prices have increased during the assessment period, certain benefits must be increased by at least this rate for the following tax year.
This includes disability benefits such as personal independence allowance, attendance allowance, disability allowance, health care allowance, disability allowance and others.
They can also increase other benefits as they see fit, “taking into account the national economic situation and all other matters” they deem relevant.
Benefits that fall into this category include Universal Credit, Job Seeker Allowance, Work and Support Allowance, and Income Support.
However, the legislation says the government is under no obligation to increase benefits by an amount that would be “insignificant”.
And the Secretary of State for Labor and Pensions can adjust the amount of the raise “to round up or down any amount as it sees fit,” it reads.
The government can also enact legislation to allow for a change, as it did when it froze certain benefits for four years in 2016.
Refusing to increase benefits in line with actual inflation would be a total disregard for those in need of this support
James Taylor, director of strategy at Scope, the disability equality charity, said: “If the government reverses this promise, it would be devastating and lead to people with disabilities starving and freezing in their own homes.”
He said many disabled people have no choice but to rely on benefits and that real terms will be cut after cuts.
He continued: “Refusing to increase benefits in line with actual inflation would be a total disregard for people in need of this support.
“The government must live up to its promise to increase benefits in line with inflation, and now provide much more direct financial support to disabled people at the sharp end of this crisis.”
Alison Garnham, CEO of the Child Poverty Action Group said: “Children are already starving as costs rise – unless benefits are increased to match inflation, they will also be victims of a collapsing economy.
Difficult families will not forgive a chancellor who comes to them for efficiency savings when their cabinets are already empty.
“Families have lost enough; they need support that is realistic and that allows them to pay the bills.”
Anastasia Berry, policy manager at the MS Society and co-chair of the Disability Benefits Consortium, said the groups are “appalled that the government is considering breaking a pledge to the disabled while giving millionaires a tax break”.
She said: “So far the new government has dangerously overlooked people with disabilities and needs to reaffirm the pledge made earlier this year to increase benefits in line with inflation.
“This should be the bare minimum to support those we know are already at a breaking point.”
The charity Mind said that when the cost of living rises, “the benefits should too”.
Vicki Nash, deputy director of policy, campaigns and public affairs, said: “Any step by the UK government to drastically cut the incomes of people on benefits during the worst cost of living crisis in a generation would simply be cruel.
“It would plunge thousands of people, many with mental health problems, into financial chaos.”
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said it is “shocking” that the government is not increasing benefits through inflation.
Senior policy advisor Iain Porter said: “Many people in the UK would agree that it is morally indefensible for the Prime Minister to choose to give tax cuts to the richest, funded through the backs of the poorest in our society.
“Those who will lose if the government continues on this path are people with low incomes, families with children, carers and people who are ill or disabled.”