Disability Campaigners Protest Before Town Hall Meeting

Disability campaigners protested outside Hove Town Hall before a debate about the government’s proposed changes to personal independence payments (PIP) and universal credit.

And when the Brighton and Hove City Council meeting started, the campaign group Speak Out presented a petition calling for a better understanding of the effects locally of the proposed changes.

Speak Out representative Siân Klein told the special council meeting that there was widespread anxiety among members of the organisation which represents people with learning disabilities.

Many members were worried about the potential cuts and were already struggling with the “cost of living crisis”, with half falling below the poverty line.

She said:

“Support from disability benefits is not a luxury but a necessity.

"These benefits provide crucial financial assistance, enabling individuals to afford basic needs such as healthcare, housing and daily living expenses.

“In today’s challenging economic climate (the proposed cuts) will exacerbate the difficulties faced by one of the most vulnerable groups in our society.”

She asked the council to lobby the government to change its position, with MPs due to debate the welfare reforms next week.

After a national outcry, the Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall wrote to fellow Labour MPs yesterday (Thursday 26 June) as a brewing rebellion appeared to threaten the party’s majority.

She offered to exclude anyone currently receiving disability payments from the proposed reforms.

At the special council meeting on Monday (23 June), Green councillor Ollie Sykes asked the Labour council leader Bella Sankey to write to the minister about local concerns.

Councillor Sykes criticised the reforms, intended to cut billions of pounds from the welfare benefits bill by limiting eligibility for PIP and cutting and freezing the universal credit health elements.

Councillor Sykes, one of those who called the special council meeting, said that the need for reform was accepted by many.

But he said:

“These proposals will not have the desired effect, for example, (they) misunderstand the role of PIP in supporting employment.

“Locally, we need to better understand the impacts on our disabled residents of these cuts and there is a role for the council here in working with voluntary and community sector partners to assess and report back.”

The Green opposition Steve Davis said that the government’s proposals would push more disabled people into poverty and they in turn would need more support from the council.

Councillor Davis said:

“If fewer people access this support, who picks up the pieces when more people cannot live the independent lives they could and should?

“The answers are, disabled people going without and suffering hardship or other services being forced to step in – like the NHS, like social services, like food banks and other voluntary sector organisations – and, for the purpose of this meeting, like councils.”

Independent councillor Bruno De Oliveira said that councillors should take a stand against austerity being used against the most oppressed people in Brighton and Hove, saying:

“We must acknowledge the impact on the wellbeing of our residents.

“People are tired of political cynicism. We can change that. Out there, someone trusts you (councillors) that you would care on matters like this – that we would be the difference – or who are we being councillors for?”

Labour councillor Jacob Allen said that, rather than write to ministers, the council should respond to the government consultation and provide support locally through the household support fund.

Councillor Allen faced interruptions from the public as he said that the Labour government had “inherited a broken and cruel system”.

He said:

“Under the current proposals, out for consultation, where people do lose PIP, because their needs are lower than 90 per cent of other PIP claimants, they will be given some of the most generous transitional protections.

“And there would still be an £8 billion increase in welfare spending by the end of this parliament.”

He said that he wanted “to encourage a careful, transparent approach by asking for a full impact assessment before changes are rolled out”.

He added that, locally, the issue was a matter for the council’s People Overview and Scrutiny Committee rather than for the full council.

Councillor Sankey said that the council had worked with Speak Out and other local learning disability organisations.

She recognised:

“The concerns that exist around some of the proposed changes while recognising the many positive proposals that have been welcomed by advocacy organisations”.

She added:

“We focus on local impact and mitigations and call for the resources that we and other partners need to protect against counterproductive impacts.”

She said that the Greens had been “cynical” – they called the meeting along with Councillor De Oliveira – because council motions had no formal bearing on government policy.

Conservative group leader Alistair McNair said that Labour was the party of austerity, slashing benefits even though that was not why people had voted for them.

Councillor McNair said that more than four million working age people were claiming health-related benefits – or 10 per cent of the working-age population. This was a million more than in 2019.

He said:

“Benefit spending is predicted to reach £100 billion by the end of this parliament.

"It’s currently around £80 billion. Government borrowing is running at £150 billion a year and rising.

“A cut of £4.5 billion, while painful, will barely scratch the surface. If Labour is going to dig us out of this black hole, it needs to grow the economy.”

But Councillor McNair said that things would only get worse because Chancellor Rachel Reeves did not how to grow the economy as she “shovels more money” into the public sector.

He added that the government either had to cut benefits or grow the economy but would do neither.

Brighton and Hove Independent councillor Mark Earthey said that Labour was supposed to be like Robin Hood, taking from the rich and protecting the poor.

Councillor Earthey spoke about his experience as an unpaid carer for his elderly parents and for his late wife.

He said that to pay all types of carers would cost the entire NHS budget – more than £190 billion a year.

He said:

“Think what would happen if even a small percentage of carers were forced out of caring by the reforms. Under that additional strain, organised community care in Brighton, or everywhere, could collapse completely.

“How do you intend to step in to fund the gap for our local residents?

"You won’t get extra funding from central government, no matter how much you plead, because they took it away from you in the first place."