Hansard

This afternoon’s debate is a call to conscience. The Scottish Green Party believes in building a society in which everyone can live with dignity; in which compassion, equality and social justice are embedded in every aspect of public policy; and in which we stand up in solidarity with those who are marginalised and minoritised by various intersecting systems of oppression.

The UK Government’s latest welfare reform proposals betray that vision. The reforms are not only technically flawed but morally indefensible. If implemented, they will devastate the lives of millions, particularly those of disabled people, carers and young people who are already teetering on the brink of—if they are not already in—poverty.

Let us be clear about what is on the table. The UK Government’s “Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper” outlines sweeping changes to disability benefits that would result in the most brutal package of cuts since George Osborne’s austerity years. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, the reforms aim to cut nearly £7 billion annually from benefits paid to disabled people and carers?. Savings for the Treasury mean staggering losses for real people.

Nearly half of all recipients of personal independence payment—1.3 million disabled people—stand to lose their daily living component. That is not a minor policy tweak; it is a mass removal of essential support from people who, for example, cannot dress, wash or feed themselves or use the toilet unaided?. Imagine telling someone who needs help to eat or shower that they no longer qualify for support because they did not score four points in a specific bureaucratic box. That is cruelty by spreadsheet.

The devastating consequences ripple further. Under the reforms, only those who qualify for the PIP daily living component will be eligible for the health element of universal credit. In one cruel stroke, more than 1.4 million disabled people will be denied both forms of support?. Those individuals face losing upwards of £8,500 a year. That is not a policy adjustment; it is an engineered descent into poverty.

In Scotland, we talk about leaving no one behind, but the proposals flip that on its head. They punish those who are too unwell to work, often stripping them of the minimal support that allows them to survive. There is no evidence—none at all—that the cuts will achieve the UK Government’s stated goal of getting people into work. Even the Office for Budget Responsibility could not estimate any employment gain from the reforms. In fact, previous benefit cuts of similar scope led to only a 3 per cent rise in employment among disabled people?.

The proposals also disproportionately impact carers, the vast majority of whom are women. Up to 150,000 carers stand to lose carers allowance or the carers element of universal credit?. That is not just bad policy; it is gendered injustice, stripping away the financial independence of those who already shoulder an immense burden of unpaid labour.

Scotland, with its devolved powers, has tried to chart a different course. The Scottish Government has rooted its approach to social security in dignity and respect, and programmes such as the adult disability payment reflect a commitment to compassion. It is not the panacea that we need, but even that progressive framework is under threat.

As Scotland’s funding for ADP is tied to eligibility rates for PIP in England and Wales, any reduction in the number of claimants there will mean massive funding shortfalls here, which are estimated to be more than half a billion pounds. Unless the Scottish Government follows suit with equally harsh eligibility cuts, it might not be allowed to use ADP as a passporting benefit for universal credit. That would leave thousands of disabled Scots unable to access much-needed financial support.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimates that the reforms could push an additional 400,000 people into poverty, including at least 50,000 children?. Let us not forget the wider context: disabled people are already overrepresented among those in poverty, with 63 per cent of people experiencing destitution reporting a disability or long-term health condition?. The reforms will only deepen those disparities.

This is not just about policy. It is about human dignity. It is about the lived reality of people such as the disabled Glasgow Disability Alliance member who said:

“Every day is a battle ... from the moment I wake up I am continuously faced with these awful decisions … I’m hungry but I’ve nothing much there ... Can’t really get out anywhere ... nae money to do anything anyway.?”

When we talk about welfare, we must remember what that word means: the wellbeing of people. It is not fiscal manipulation or political point scoring but real human wellbeing. The UK Government’s reforms offer none of that. It does not see the person behind the form. It sees only numbers to be reduced and lines on a balance sheet to be erased. We see differently. We see people. We see families. We see communities. We see the truth: the cuts will devastate lives. That is why I and the Greens will oppose them with everything that we can.

This debate is not just about benefits; it is about what kind of country we want to be. Will we let the most vulnerable pay the price for political cowardice and economic misdirection, or will we rise in solidarity to say, “Enough”?

Now is the time to choose justice. With countless lives hanging in the balance, now is the time to fight for dignity and to stand with disabled people and carers. We cannot let them fall.