Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has said ministers are “firm in our convictions” on welfare cuts, ahead of an expected backbench rebellion on their plans to overhaul the benefits system.
It comes as she unveiled the draft law to deliver the plans to cut Pip disability benefits and the sickness-related element of universal credit.
Ministers have also produced official assessments highlighting a gradual reduction in support for those who will no longer meet tighter eligibility criteria, and protections for the most vulnerable.
But more than 100 Labour MPs have expressed concerns about the proposals, which will be voted on for the first time in around a fortnight.
The Lib Dems have said the changes could be devastating for disabled people, while the Green Party described them as “cruel”.
Despite the threat of unrest from his own MPs, earlier this week Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reiterated his support for the changes, telling reporters: “We have got to get the reforms through.”
Kendall echoed his sentiment, telling BBC Radio 4’s PM programme that although her “door was always open” to colleagues, the government was “firm in our convictions”.
She insisted the changes were not motivated by finding savings, saying “I have never started from a spreadsheet,” and too many people were being “written off” under the current welfare system.
The minister also said claimant levels were unsustainable, pointing to figures showing that a record 3.7m people were claiming personal independence payments (Pips), the disability benefit for those who have difficulty completing everyday tasks. It is not means-tested and is available for people who are in work.
The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, published on Wednesday, will tighten the criteria people have to meet in order to get Pips, and cut the element of universal credit which relates to sickness.
In its impact assessments, the government said nine out of 10 current Pip claimants would still receive their payments by the end of this Parliament (around 2030).
However, any reduction or withdrawal of payments will be gradual – that is because there won’t be changes to eligibility without an assessment taking place, and claimants are only re-assessed every three to four years.
The analysis also suggests that re-assessments can sometimes lead to increased payments – currently around one in five, and that proportion could increase by 2029 as conditions tend to get worse not better.
Nonetheless, the government expects 370,000 existing claimants in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to lose out, saving £1.7bn in 2029/30.
A further £1.89bn could be saved from a predicted 430,000 drop in the number of potential future claimants.
A knock-on consequence will be on carers who may lose their eligibility for Carers’ Allowance, a benefit for full-time carers, if their partner is no longer eligible for Pip. The government expects £500m will be saved in Carers’ Allowance by 2029/30.
Ministers have defended the proposal by arguing they are providing improved support for people who will never be able to work.
The bill would ensure people with severe lifelong conditions will no longer face re-assessments for eligibility, and a boost in their weekly payments.
The universal credit impact assessment estimated more than 200,000 would be covered by this exemption.
The assessments say that while welfare payments are expected to rise by the end of the Parliament, changes in the legislation will slow the rate at which it grows.
An impact assessment carried out by the government in March suggested the welfare cuts could push an extra 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into relative poverty.
However, at the time ministers stressed the figures did not factor in the government’s pledge to spend £1bn on helping the long-term sick and disabled back into work, or efforts to reduce poverty.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “If ministers were serious about getting these costs down it would be fixing health and social care, to get people fit and well and back to work.”
Cat Eccles, Labour MP for Stourbridge, told the BBC the move was “brutal” and that people unable to wash themselves could lose out under the proposed new system.
