Reform UK is preparing to detail £50bn of proposed cuts to benefits for disabled people and foreign nationals. Robert Jenrick, Reform’s finance spokesperson, is expected to outline plans for £20bn in cuts to disability benefits and a further £21bn by stopping foreign nationals, including EU citizens with settled status, from claiming almost any benefits.
The party states these plans are intended to reduce the welfare bill by a quarter. Under the proposals, Personal Independence Payments (PIP) would be replaced by a different cash benefit, restricted to only the “gravely ill and severely challenged.” Support for “lower level conditions” would be overseen by councils and mayors.
The policy paper extends previous proposals, aiming to stop foreign-born households from claiming Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Pension Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Child Benefit, free childcare, free school meals, or disability benefits. This change is projected to save £21bn annually by the fifth year of the policy. However, foreign-born parents with British-born children would remain eligible for child benefit and free school meals.
Campaign groups and other political parties have criticised the proposals. Best for Britain, a pro-EU campaign group, stated that denying benefits to those with indefinite leave to remain would breach Britain’s EU withdrawal agreement. Labour MP Rachael Maskell and Linda Burnip of Disabled People Against Cuts have also raised concerns about the impact on disabled people and the effectiveness of such cuts.