Church groups condemn UK government welfare cuts

Church-goers are being exhorted to complain to their MPs as welfare cuts leave food bank users ‘terrified’

Church groups have attacked welfare cuts announced by the UK government in last week’s Spring Statement.

On 28 March, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves declared there would be further reductions to welfare spending and an increase in the defence budget.

According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, in figures released alongside the Statement, Personal Independence Payments (PIP) will be reduced for 800,000 claimants via tightened eligibility criteria.

Cuts to the health component of Universal Credit payments will hit 2.7 million claimants, saving the government £1.7bn. The health element will be cut by 50 percent and then frozen for new claimants.

Justice & Peace Scotland shared a social media post by The Poverty Alliance, Scotland’s anti-poverty network, on 28 March saying: “It is completely unjust to, once again, balance the books on the backs of the those on the lowest incomes. These cuts will have a devastating impact for households across the country.”

It added: “There is no justification for these cuts; the Chancellor could scrap her self-imposed fiscal rules or use our taxation system to raise the revenue needed for the better future we all want to see.”

Church Action on Poverty urged churchgoers to speak up “against the Government’s harmful and immoral cuts to vital lifelines”.  It said the cuts “fly in the face of Government promises and evidence of what does or doesn’t work, and the consultation is stacked against disabled people, by consulting only on certain selected points”.  

It encouraged Christians to write to MPs urging them to speak to Sir Stephen Timms, the minister for disability, and head of the department for Work and Pensions.

In December, Timms met disabled activists and promised that disabled people would be at the heart of this Government’s actions.

 “The threatened cuts go against that”, said Church Action on Poverty, “and we are urging him to honour his pledge.”

Sarah Edwards, executive director of the Christian charity the JustMoney Movement, said that the Spring Statement reflected “wrong-headed priorities”.

She added: “We should tax extreme wealth to raise revenue from those who can most afford it, to help pay for safety nets for those who are struggling, properly funded public services, and invest in an economy that serves people and planet.” The Trussell Trust called on the government “to rethink its cruel and completely irresponsible plan”. It reported that “people at food banks are already telling us that they’re terrified about how they will survive”.  

The Trust also noted that a government survey shows 4.7m people in disabled households are facing hunger, including 1.6m children.

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