15,000 people in disabled households in Scotland will be forced into severe hardship if the UK government goes ahead with cuts to social security, warns Trussell
- New report reveals hundreds of thousands of people will be pushed into severe hardship if government goes ahead with ‘cruel’ cuts to disability payments
- 15,000 more people in disabled households will be at risk of needing to use a food bank
New analysis from anti-poverty charity Trussell has found that 15,000 people in disabled households across Scotland will be forced into severe hardship and at risk of needing a food bank in 2029/30, if the UK government goes ahead with planned cuts to social security.
The report – produced by economic and public policy experts WPI Economics for Trussell – models the projected impact of proposed changes to social security for disabled people on the number of people facing hunger and hardship in Scotland, a measure of deep poverty which captures people at risk of needing to use a food bank now or in the future.
This new analysis comes just weeks after it was revealed that almost 240,000 emergency food parcels were distributed by the Trussell community across Scotland during the past year. This is equivalent to one parcel every two minutes and a 101% increase compared to a decade ago.
Across the UK, it is projected that 440,000 people in disabled households will be forced into severe hardship. It also shows that the UK government’s planned increase to the basic rate of Universal Credit will move 95,000 people out of severe hardship – which Trussell says is clear evidence this welcome step cannot possibly make up for the sheer scale of the damage of cuts. The net impact of reforms will still be around 340,000 more people in disabled households facing hunger and hardship.
Trussell warns that UK government’s proposed £7 billion cuts to support for disabled people are likely to undermine its goal of increasing employment and will drive higher costs for public services.
Trussell and WPI Economics have shown that even before these cuts, the ongoing failure to tackle hunger and hardship leads to the Scottish government spending an additional £860m a year on public services alone, like the NHS, schools and children’s social care.
As MPs prepare to vote on legislation to introduce the cuts, Trussell is urging the UK government to think again and halt these damaging cuts to support for disabled people. They will be condemning hundreds of thousands of people to severe hardship and piling the pressure on food banks across the country, which are already stretched to breaking point.
As well as axing the proposed cuts, Trussell is calling on the UK government to bring forward the planned increase to the basic rate of Universal Credit so it comes into full effect from April 2026, rather than April 2029.
Cara Hilton, senior policy manager for Scotland at Trussell, said: “This UK government was elected on a promise of change, and with a commitment to end the need for food banks. If the government goes ahead with these ill-considered and cruel cuts to social security, this promise will not be kept – and instead, they will risk leaving behind a legacy of rising poverty and hunger.
“Tackling fiscal challenges should not be done at the expense of people already facing hunger and hardship. These cuts will force 440,000 people in disabled households into severe hardship and leave them at risk of needing a food bank. We urge the government not to continue down this damaging path.
“We support the plan to reform employment support and help more people into work, where their health allows this and accessible jobs are available, but these proposed cuts will utterly undermine this goal. Slashing support will damage people’s health and reduce their ability to engage in training and work.”
Craig Crosthwaite, manager at North Ayrshire Foodbank, said: “Most days we see people coming to the food bank who have a disability or are caring for someone with a disability in their household.
“Social security payments do not allow people to afford the essentials, and this is amplified when you are also dealing with the extra costs of managing a disability. Life simply costs more for disabled people. We fear that should these cuts be forced through Parliament, we will see many more people being forced to access our help.”
You can find out how many emergency food parcels were distributed in your area, and write to your MP to express your concerns at these cruel cuts, on the Trussell website: https://campaign.trussell.org.uk/parcels-by-postcode
