McFadden’s speech suggests ministers are set to renew efforts to pressure young disabled people into work

The government appears to be gearing up for fresh cuts and “radical” reforms that will increase the pressure on young disabled people to move off out-of-work disability benefits.

Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden this week delivered a speech (pictured) that stressed the growing number of young sick and disabled people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

He claimed the public wanted the social security system to “promote work and value for money” and that it would not be enough to “tweak a policy here or there”.

His suggestion that major reforms were being planned was underlined by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, when she delivered the annual Mais lecture this week.

She said that by the end of this parliament – probably in 2029 – the government “must have built a welfare system materially different from the one we inherited, to support people to find work and to thrive in work”.

McFadden’s speech at Waltham Forest College, in north-east London, offered few details of the cuts and reforms that are likely to be announced in the coming months, or any recognition that much of the increase in the number of sick and disabled young people who are not in work could be linked to the pandemic and NHS delays and treatment backlogs.

Instead, he insisted that young people “want to work” and that the system “too readily funnels them down a path labelled ‘unfit for work’”.

And there was no recognition from McFadden of the contributions that disabled people who are unable to work make to their communities, or that work and work-related pressure can be harmful, particularly to those with experience of mental distress.

Instead of stressing that good work can be beneficial for many people, but not everyone, he told the audience: “I have a simple message today: work is good for us.

“Not just good for earning a wage, but even more fundamentally, good for pride, purpose and identity that it gives us.”

The two speeches came eight months after backbench Labour rebels forced ministers to abandon some of their planned cuts to disability benefits.

But steep cuts to the health element of universal credit for most new claimants were eventually passed by parliament and will be introduced next month.

And many of the other reforms suggested in last year’s Pathways to Work green paper – under McFadden’s predecessor, Liz Kendall – could still be introduced.

These include scrapping the health element completely for disabled people under the age of 22.

Asked about this policy in November, McFadden said the government had not yet decided whether to go ahead with it.

Other policies in the green paper included introducing a time-limited replacement for contributory employment and support allowance; scrapping the work capability assessment; and changing the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) safeguarding, conditionality and sanctions regimes.

Some of these decisions are likely to wait for the conclusions of the review of personal independence payment (PIP) being led by the minister for social security and disability, Sir Stephen Timms, and a report by Alan Milburn into the increasing number of young people who are NEET, which is focused on disabled young people.

McFadden said he had told both reviews to “take this chance to advocate radical and powerful change”.

DWP has refused to rule out spending cuts to PIP, while disabled activists have told Milburn’s inquiry that they fear the government is focusing its attention on “punishing” young disabled people for their needs and challenges, rather than ensuring they receive the support they need.

Meanwhile, DWP has today (Thursday) opened a call for evidence for the Timms review, which is due to report in the autumn.

The call for evidence will run until 28 May and is based on the review’s terms of reference, with views on PIP particularly sought from disabled people, their organisations, carers, clinicians, experts, MPs and other elected officials.

Sir Stephen said it was the first step in a “wider programme of engagement”.

Dr Clenton Farquharson, one of the review’s two disabled co-chairs, said: “It is vital that disabled people’s voices are at the heart of this review.

“PIP has a profound impact on people’s daily lives, independence, and sense of dignity, so any conversation about its future must begin with those who live with its realities every day.

“This call for evidence is an important opportunity to listen directly to disabled people, carers, organisations, and others with experience of the system.

“We want to hear honestly what is working, what is not, and what a fairer and more human system should look like.”

Fellow co-chair Sharon Brennan said: “It is essential for the success of this review that we hear frank and honest views from as many disabled people, carers, advocates and others as wish to participate.

“That’s why this call for evidence is just the start of our engagement plans, which will be wide and varied to ensure people can offer their views in a way that works for them.”

DWP also published today the latest update from the review’s co-chairs.