Help Stop Harmful Cuts to Support for Disabled People

As you will have seen in the media, on Tuesday 1 July, MPs are going to be voting on the UK Government’s Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Bill. This new law would introduce new rules for disabled people to be eligible for PIP and it cuts the amount of money people can get in Universal Credit Health element.

The UK Government never asked disabled people about the plans included in the bill and what their impact would be. Unlike the Government, DES wanted to know what people thought. We did a members survey to find and here is what you said:

• Over 1 in 2 members who answered said the idea to require someone to score at least 4 points on at least one daily living activity to qualify for PIP was a very bad idea. 1 in 4 members said it was a bad idea.
• 2 out of 3 members told us the idea to cut the amount of money in half for the Health part of Universal Credit for new people claiming was a very bad idea
• 2 out of 3 people think that these changes will mean disabled people will be a lot less independent than they are now.

Thanks to everyone who filled out our survey and we will be sending the Government what we found as part of our response to their consultation.

Disabled People in Scotland get Adult Disability Payment (ADP) instead of PIP but if MPs vote to cut the amount of money the UK spends on PIP it means there will be less money for the Scottish Parliament to spend on ADP.

Members have already told DES you think these cuts are wrong. We have joined over 100 organisations calling on Scottish MPs to reject these harmful social security cuts.

DES needs your continued help to stop these cuts.

We are asking you to use your voice to tell your MP how you think they should vote on Tuesday. The best way to do this is to write to them.

If you’re not sure who your MP is you can find out by clicking this link and putting in your postcode in the search box: Find your MP – MPs and Lords – UK Parliament

Once you’ve found out who your MP is you can use their email address to write to them.

We know some people might need a little help with what to say when asking your MP how they should vote; therefore you can use this email template that we have created  that you can copy if you want to. All you need to do is add your name at the bottom.

Please work with us so that together we can use our voices and stop these cuts to social security payments that disabled people need to maintain their independence.