Dear constituent,

Thank you for contacting me about social security and support for disabled people.

Throughout the pandemic, I have called for action on a range of social security measures to provide immediate support to people, including converting Universal Credit (UC) advances into grants instead of loans. There should also be an end to the five-week wait, a suspension of the benefit cap, the two-child limit in UC and tax credits should be abolished and the uplift to UC should be extended to legacy benefits, such as Employment and Support Allowance. Disabled people face increased costs for PPE for carers, food and heating, meaning that the social security measures are becoming increasingly urgent.

In addition, I think it is unacceptable that the Government is considering a cut to UC. However, the Government has said the increase to UC is only temporary and it is therefore due to end by April next year.

The Government will be bringing forward a National Strategy for Disabled People and a Green Paper on Health and Disability Benefits and Support, although both are subject to delays due to COVID-19. Rather than allowing the publication date to be pushed back, I think the impact of COVID-19 on disabled people makes its publication all the more vital.

The concept of face-to-face assessments can often be stressful and dehumanising for disabled people. They were suspended in March, but before the latest lockdown announcement the Government had said it was going to review what activity it could start reintroducing. The pandemic has shown it is possible to do things differently, so this moment should prompt a rethink about how assessments can be tailored to individual needs. The Government has said it is exploring ways to reform the assessment and increase the likelihood of being able to do paper-based reviews as part of the Green Paper.

Although the immediate priority is to make sure that people get the support they need, we also need a new social security system which has dignity and respect at its heart – one offering a proper social security safety net and decent support to all. Assessments need to be more responsive and we need to develop alternatives to the current system of Work Capability and Personal Independence Payment assessments.

Thank you once again for contacting me about this issue.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Dowd MP