Disabled people win court battle for welfare rights
Activist Ellen Clifford appealed against the way the Tories handled a public consultation into changes to the Work Capability Assessment
A vigil outside the Royal Courts of Justice in December
By Camilla Royle
Thursday 16 January 2025
SOCIALIST WORKER Issue
Disabled people have won a crucial battle in defending welfare rights against attacks from the state.
Activist Ellen Clifford went to the High Court last month to appeal against the way the former Tory government handled a public consultation into changes to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA).
The judge ruled on Thursday that the consultation was “so unfair as to be unlawful”.
The government ran the consultation in 2023 and announced changes to the WCA in the autumn budget that year.
The plan will drive more people into poverty by moving more of them into the Limited Capability for Work group. This means being expected to do more to find work and facing cuts of £416 a month to their benefits if they don’t find a job.
The court ruling found it unfair that the Department for Work and Pensions rushed through the consultation in just eight weeks. It refused to extend the deadline despite disability and anti-poverty organisations writing to protest that the timeline was too short.
The department did not properly explain the effect that the proposals would have on disabled people, including that they would lose hundreds of pounds worth of benefits.
Inclusion London, Disability Rights UK and Disability North said in their response to the consultation, “It is shocking that the consultation proposal does not mention this at all. It is also disappointing there is no clear indication of how many people will be affected.
“This is crucial information and we seriously doubt the public can make informed contributions to this consultation without fully understanding the negative financial impact for future claimants.”
It also failed to mention that “the number of people expected to find employment was vastly outweighed by the number of people who would lose money and face conditionality but would not as a result find employment”.
And it did not properly explain the rationale for the proposed changes—that they were intended to save the government money.
The consultation makes a mockery of the previous government’s claims to fully consult with people affected and listen to the views and voices of disabled people.
The changes are due to come into effect this year, unless the new Labour government scraps them.
Disabled people have won a crucial battle in defending welfare rights against attacks from the state.
Activist Ellen Clifford went to the High Court last month to appeal against the way the former Tory government handled a public consultation into changes to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA).
The judge ruled on Thursday that the consultation was “so unfair as to be unlawful”.
The government ran the consultation in 2023 and announced changes to the WCA in the autumn budget that year.
The plan will drive more people into poverty by moving more of them into the Limited Capability for Work group. This means being expected to do more to find work and facing cuts of £416 a month to their benefits if they don’t find a job.
The court ruling found it unfair that the Department for Work and Pensions rushed through the consultation in just eight weeks. It refused to extend the deadline despite disability and anti-poverty organisations writing to protest that the timeline was too short.
The department did not properly explain the effect that the proposals would have on disabled people, including that they would lose hundreds of pounds worth of benefits.
Inclusion London, Disability Rights UK and Disability North said in their response to the consultation, “It is shocking that the consultation proposal does not mention this at all. It is also disappointing there is no clear indication of how many people will be affected.
“This is crucial information and we seriously doubt the public can make informed contributions to this consultation without fully understanding the negative financial impact for future claimants.”
It also failed to mention that “the number of people expected to find employment was vastly outweighed by the number of people who would lose money and face conditionality but would not as a result find employment”.
And it did not properly explain the rationale for the proposed changes—that they were intended to save the government money.
The consultation makes a mockery of the previous government’s claims to fully consult with people affected and listen to the views and voices of disabled people.
The changes are due to come into effect this year, unless the new Labour government scraps them.
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