UN Raises Alarm Over Labour’s Disability Benefit Cuts: “A Continuation of Tory Austerity”

A History of Neglect: No Progress Since 2016 Inquiry

An urgent letter from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) to the UK government has sparked outrage and concern within the disability community. The correspondence, sent Monday evening (07/07/25), follows a coordinated campaign by disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) who presented damning evidence of how the proposed cuts to out-of-work disability benefits could worsen the lives of thousands of disabled people.

This development follows a long-standing dispute between the UK and the UN. In 2016, after an inquiry initiated by Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), the UK was found to be responsible for “grave and systematic” violations of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The committee reported last year that there had been “no significant progress” in over seven years, despite repeated warnings. Now, under the newly elected Labour government, hopes for change are rapidly deteriorating.

Key Issues Raised in the UN Letter

The UNCRPD’s latest letter underscores several deeply troubling developments:

1. Planned Cuts to Universal Credit

The government plans to scrap the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) element of Universal Credit for most new claimants starting from 2025. This change will result in a loss of £390 per month—an annual cut of £4,680 for those affected.

This is especially concerning for individuals who cannot work due to illness or disability. Without the LCWRA component, disabled people will be expected to survive on the same standard allowance as non-disabled job seekers, which is a form of Discrimination and a Violation of Human Rights.

2. Risk of Deepening Disability Poverty

The UN warns that these reforms are likely to exacerbate disability poverty, already worsened by a decade of austerity, rising living costs, and systemic discrimination. Without the financial buffer of the LCWRA component, many disabled people face heightened food insecurity, debt, and homelessness.

3. Lack of Proper Consultation with Disabled People

In violation of Article 4(3) of the UN Convention, the government has failed to engage in meaningful consultation with DPOs. Policy decisions have been made without co-production or even basic dialogue, undermining the principle of “Nothing About Us Without Us.”

4. Concerns Over the Use of Artificial Intelligence

The committee also expresses alarm over the UK’s use of artificial intelligence and data scraping to monitor the bank accounts of Universal Credit claimants. This form of surveillance raises significant privacy and human rights issues, particularly for disabled individuals already under constant scrutiny.

What This Means for Disabled People

If these changes go ahead, newly disabled individuals who apply for benefits after 2025 will face a vastly different—and harsher—welfare landscape:

Loss of up to £390 per month in essential support.
Increased pressure to work, regardless of fluctuating health or severe impairments.
Potential exposure to AI-based monitoring creates a climate of fear and mistrust.
Further marginalisation and exclusion, as their voices continue to be ignored by policymakers.

For people already living on the edge, these cuts are not just economic—they are existential.

Breakdown of Affected Benefits

Benefit	Current Value	Proposed Change	Impact
Universal Credit Standard Allowance (single, over 25)	£393.45/month	No change	Baseline benefit
LCWRA Element (additional support)	£390/month	To be removed for new claimants	Loss of £4,680 per year
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)	Varies by need	No confirmed change yet	May be affected by future reforms or reviews

This loss will hit new claimants the hardest, particularly younger people newly diagnosed with chronic illnesses or mental health conditions who will find themselves without the support they need to survive and recover.

A Continuation of Tory Austerity

Despite coming from a new administration, the UN sees these Labour-led proposals as a continuation of the Conservative agenda. The letter explicitly states that the proposed bill, if passed, would “deepen the signs of regression” noted in its 2024 follow-up report. This regression goes against the spirit and obligations of the UN Convention and entrenches systemic discrimination.

Ulterior Motive

It is deeply troubling that the government continues to penalise disabled people, despite the undeniable fact that no one chooses to be disabled. Rather than offering compassion or support, the system increasingly treats disabled individuals as financial liabilities, masking austerity cuts as efforts to “protect taxpayers’ money.” Yet most taxpayers have no real say in how their contributions are allocated, and the narrative conveniently ignores the enormous tax contributions disabled people make to themselves. The government’s unwillingness to listen to disability campaigners or engage meaningfully with disabled voices suggests an ulterior motive: to reduce welfare spending by targeting those least able to resist. This is not about reform—it is about control, cost-cutting, and maintaining a public image of economic responsibility at the expense of society’s most marginalised. Disabled people are not burdens; they are citizens deserving of dignity, inclusion, and justice.

Conclusion

Disabled people in the UK are at a critical crossroads. Instead of reversing a decade of cuts and indignities, the Labour government appears poised to escalate them. The UN’s intervention is a stark warning: the world is watching, and the UK’s record on disability rights is rapidly deteriorating.

To avoid further international condemnation—and more importantly, to protect the lives and dignity of disabled people—the government must:

Halt the proposed cuts and maintain the LCWRA element.
Engage meaningfully with DPOs in co-designing welfare policies;
Cease AI surveillance on benefit claimants without due process.
Uphold its legal obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Disabled lives are not a budget line to be trimmed. They are human lives deserving of respect, autonomy, and justice.