The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently announced a new date for Wales’ only face-to-face consultation on disability benefit changes that was previously cancelled at the last minute.
The Invitation-only event will take place on 23 June – 5 days after the first reading of the bill in Parliament, which campaigners say shows the Government isn’t prepared to listen to disabled people on the impacts of the proposals.
90% of people in Wales claiming the standard rate of Personal Independence Payment for daily living activities could lose at least some of the benefit following the Government’s cuts, a recent written parliamentary question revealed – with Wales the worst-impacted part of the UK.
A spokesperson for Disability Wales said: “There is a growing atmosphere of fear and anger among disabled people across Wales in response to recent government proposals. The publication of the Pathways to Work Green Paper and the Chancellor’s Spring Statement have combined to threaten a £5 billion crackdown on disability benefits. These measures could see disabled individuals in Wales losing up to £4,500 annually—an amount that translates into missed heating bills, skipped meals, and unaffordable care for many. Such losses are not just numbers on paper; they represent the tangible, devastating impact on everyday life, dignity, and independence.
“Disabled people already face numerous barriers to employment and independent living, and these proposals risk deepening those challenges rather than addressing them. The fear is that instead of creating supportive pathways, these policies will further marginalize and impoverish disabled people. Policymakers must recognise the profound human cost of these measures and work to build a more inclusive, supportive system that genuinely enables disabled people to live with dignity and independence.”
Disabled People Against Cuts Cymru (DPAC Cymru) reacted to the first reading of the bill today, calling it “outrageous” that it was being presented to parliament before the public consultation process has finished.
A spokesperson for Disabled People Against Cuts Cymru said: “This timetable means that MPs will be voting when the ink on the consultation responses is barely dry – before anyone has had a chance to read them.
“The government never intended to listen. We warned from day one that half the issues – the most important issues – were off limits for consultation. Their actions today demonstrate their arrogance in not even maintaining the pretence of listening. We have always insisted that we have to consider the impact of the combined changes in full.
“It is an insult that this is happening before we have even had the consultation events for Wales. The changes will affect 190,000 people in Wales – 6% of the population – taking £466 million/year from our pockets.
“The Wales consultation event is only happening at all now because Disabled People Against Cuts forced the DWP to do better, following the cancellation of the first blatantly discriminatory and inadequate in-person consultation.
At every stage, disabled people and carers have had to fight tooth and nail, against deliberate barriers and insults, for a place at the table.
“Labour MPs and ministers have been free to put across their dodgy talking points and hateful rhetoric (“children’s pocket money”, “scrapheap”, etc.) on the news. They have been challenged, sometimes quite well, by journalists. But disabled people have not been listened to, and not given a chance to have our say, or an equal “right of reply”.
“There is no economic or moral argument, no matter how convincing, that will sway the government on this matter. They aren’t interested in evidence, because they are cynically treating us as a political football for votes.
“Disabled people, carers, medical professionals, economists, and health and care workers have hit a brick wall urging the government to listen. We can only now have this debate in public.
“The proposals are utterly flawed, by every measure. They must be withdrawn, and the government must start again on welfare reform, in a process led by disabled people, carers, and the workers who deliver the health, care, and welfare system. That’s the future Disabled People Against Cuts and our allies are fighting for.”
Joshua Reeves BEM founder of Don’t Call Me Special added: “The government wants to talk about saving money? These welfare cuts aren’t about efficiency — they’re about erasing disabled lives from the budget. While billions go to private contracts, we’re forced deeper into poverty. This is not reform, it’s abandonment — and we will not stay silent.”
Swansea Bay News has asked the Department for Work and Pensions for comment on the campaign group’s claims.
