NCF responds to Chancellor’s Spring Statement

Measures in the statement include £4.8bn worth of cuts to welfare benefits, including the health element of universal credit being cut for new claimants by 50 per cent and then frozen, and departmental administrative budget reductions, whereby government departments will reduce their administrative budgets by 15 per cent by the end of the decade.

Liz Jones, policy director at NCF, commented: “It is clear that the statement … will create far reaching impacts on the millions of people who rely on care and support services every day to live good lives, many of whom are supported by our not-for-profit members. There is nothing in this statement for the many organisations across the adult care and support sector working hard every day to provide care and support services to help people live fulfilled lives.

“The statement included confirmation of the changes to the welfare system that will see cuts to peoples’ benefits of nearly £5bn in a bid to get more people with learning and physical disabilities into work. By taking this action the government does not seem to have understood that it is not only people who rely on PIP, Work Capability Assessments and Universal Credit to live their lives that are affected by these cuts; people may be surprised to know this will also impact the people who support them.

“The government’s own Impact Assessment on these benefit reforms lays bare how hard these changes are going to hit people who rely on receiving PIP and Universal Credit to live their daily lives. Many people use their PIP to help pay for adult social care support and social care charges from their local authorities. The measures also threaten people’s right to claim Carer’s Allowance due to higher eligibility for PIP. Cutting social security support risks driving people into poverty whereas investing in social care supports people to stay in work and helps those who are further from the labour market to get into work.”