Stop Devastating UC Cuts For Disabled Young Adults - Write To Your MP

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Included in the Government’s welfare benefit reform green paper is the removal of the health element addition of Universal Credit (UC) for young Disabled people aged 16-21 who are unable to work or do work-related activity.

This would mean a huge drop in income of almost £100 per week for nearly 110,000 Disabled young adults claiming UC in their own right.

It would have a devastating financial impact not only on Disabled young adults who are not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), but also on many who are in education or low-paid employment. 

It will push Disabled young people further from employment and further into poverty.

Contact (for families with Disabled children) and Special Needs Jungle are campaigning against the under-22 proposal and asking that people write to their MP to join the campaign against it.

Both organisations highlight the following:

The Green Paper attempts to justify restricting access to the health element as a necessary measure to reduce the number of young people who are NEET.

But restricting access to the health element will have no impact on the 73% of 16-24 year olds who are NEET for reasons other than illness or disability. Instead, it will impact exclusively on one group of NEET young people - those who face the greatest barriers to education and employment as a result of their disabilities.

In addition, some young Disabled people who have been able to move into work will also be negatively impacted by this policy. Many Disabled people in low-paid or part-time work rely on UC to top up their earnings. Under this proposal, a Disabled worker who is aged under 22 could receive up to £97 per week less UC as a result of no access to a health element.

The proposed policy will not just impact young Disabled people who are NEET, but also many young Disabled people who are in education.

Despite barriers to students claiming UC, it is often possible for those in non-advanced education who have passed the August after their 19th birthday to successfully claim UC as an adult.

Under the current system, low-income families with a Disabled 19-year-old already have to contend with a drop in income of at least £29.25 per week when their child stops being treated as a dependant and starts claiming UC in their own right.

However, under the government’s proposal, young Disabled people aged under 22 would only receive £73 rather than £170 per week, meaning a much greater drop in household income.

This would have a devastating impact on the families involved. The young person’s needs would not have changed, nor would there be any reduction in the disability related costs faced by that family. However, solely as a result of their child reaching the September after their 19th birthday, they would face a crippling drop in financial support of more than £125 per week

DR UK urges everyone to back the fight against the under 22 UC cut and write to their MP.

You can write your MP here.