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Woman 'losing sleep' over disability welfare reform

Felicity Evans
Money editor, BBC Wales News
BBC Sam Brown, a woman in her forties with long brown hair dyed red at the ends and wearing a pink top. She is wearing glasses. Behind her is a metal fence with a hedge behind it. The sloping roof of a house can be seen in the left hand side of the shot.BBC
Sam Brown, who receives Pip, is blind in one eye and has less than 25% vision in the other

A woman with severe sight loss has said she is losing sleep over changes to the welfare system announced by the UK government.

Sam Brown, 43, from Pontypridd in Rhondda Cynon Taf, is one of more than 3.6 million people in the UK who receive a disability benefit called Personal Independence Payments (Pip).

Plans to restrict eligibility for Pip were announced last week, a move Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed in the Spring Statement on Wednesday, saying it "can't be right" that some people were improperly using Pips.

The UK government said the proposed changes to the welfare system would save £5bn a year by 2029-30 and get more people into work.

More than 3 million families will lose out financially as a result of cuts to welfare benefits by 2030, amount to an average loss of £1,720 a year, government analysis shows.

More than 14% of working age people in Wales - about 275,000 people - claim Pip.

The sweeping changes to the welfare system will also affect the health element of universal credit, which is claimed by about 150,000 in Wales.

"The more I'm worrying 'is this going to happen to me?' the more it's having a knock-on effect at night with my sleep because my brain just won't switch off," said Ms Brown, who uses her Pip to get help to clean the house, go out to support groups, and to see friends at theatre groups.

"I'm a very social person and I like to go out and about.

"It scares me because that is my life, that is how I live and I'd be lost without [Pip]."

Getty Images Chancellor Rachel Reeves with shoulder length brown hair and a navy blue jacket smilingGetty Images
Chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed more detail on the cuts to welfare in her Spring Statement later on Wednesday

The Department for Work and Pensions estimated that by 2029-30 there would be 3.2 million families - including current and future recipients - who will financially lose out as a result of the package, with an average loss of £1,720 per year once inflation is taken into account.

However, it suggested more people would benefit financially, with 3.8 million families set to be on average £420 per year better off, after taking into account the impact of inflation.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has defended the welfare changes which include £1bn to support "opportunities to get back into work".

A woman with dark hair and glasses in a wheelchair. She is holding a sign that reads "No Pip?! No independence! No equality!
Protests were held in Swansea on Wednesday against the benefit cuts

There has been widespread anger at the benefit cuts.

Dr Chloe Morgan, 30, who has osteogenesis imperfecta and uses a wheelchair, was at a protest opposing the cuts in Swansea on Wednesday.

She works part time due to her disability and said she "doesn't know how she would manage" without Pip, which helps with the additional costs that come with her disability.

"There must be better ways of making cuts," she said.

"Cutting Pip is just not right. We cannot keep punishing disabled people. It would cut back on my independence.

"There's got to be a better way to save money than putting disabled people in poverty," she said.

Martin Astley has brown hair and a beard wearing a blue top. He is standing outside his business premises. There is a glass door in the background with a hygiene rating on it, as well as stickers with the bike park logo on and a white piece of paper attached to it.
Martin Astley is the founder of Bike Park Wales in Merthyr

Elsewhere, slow growth of the economy was a big concern for Martin Astley, the founder of Bike Park Wales in Merthyr Tydfil, which employs 85 people.

Mr Astley said he was worried about tax and wage increases which will kick in at the beginning of April, including the National Living Wage which will rise by 77p for over-21s to £12.21 an hour.

While it may be good news for his workers, Mr Astley said it meant a 6% increase in his payroll costs.

"That's a significant hit," he said. Employers will also pay an increased amount of National Insurance from April, which Mr Astley described as a "double whammy".

"It just makes everything harder," he said.

Mr Astley said he could not pass the extra costs on to his customers because "consumer confidence is low" and they are not spending as freely as before.

He said if growth was the UK government's priority then "business needs to be supported and right now it feels like we're bearing the brunt of everything".

Shoppers in Merthyr Tydfil town centre were also worried about rising costs.

"Electricity is going up, water is going up. I think it affects everyone," said Andrew.

The state pension is increasing by 4% in April but Pat, who is a pensioner, said she was struggling.

Pat, an older women with grey hair and glasses wearing a black and white check coat. She is standing on a street with bollards and a row of shops in the background.
Pat says she's struggling with the cost of living

"The cost of living is crippling," said Pat. "I had my fuel allowance taken away from me."

She said she supported moves to get benefit claimants back into work.

"When you work all your life you get a pension and you're entitled to nothing, if you never work you're entitled to everything," she said.

David White, 29, runs a door-to-door sales business and speaks to "two or three hundred different people a day".

"A lot of people struggle," he said.

"Even when it comes to window cleaning, you can imagine how cheap window cleaning is.

"I think the economy is going to get worse year-on-year unless people do something about it."

  • Additional reporting by Sanjana Idnani and Siwan Richards