Labor must abandon “deeply worrying” proposal to replace it social assistance payments With vouchers, disabled claimants and campaigners said this.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall refused to ignore previous Government’s plans Replacing personal independent payments (PIP) with a voucher system.

Charities also upset by Labor pressure Cost-cutting changes to out-of-work benefits affecting people with disabilities.

Plans to tighten the work capacity assessment (WCA) criteria that determine whether a person is eligible for universal credit and Employment Support Allowance (ESA) could see more than 450,000 disabled people lose more than £400 a month.

Yolanda Barker, who has secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), relies on ESA for her out-of-work pay and PIP to support her daily living and mobility needs as her condition gradually worsens.

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The 52-year-old, from Kent, uses his £150-a-week PIP to help run his mobility buggy, electric wheelchair and other specialist equipment. It also helps pay for regular physiotherapy sessions and vitamin supplements.

Ms Barker fears Labor ministers have not yet rejected a Conservative Party proposal to replace regular cash PIP payments with one-off grants or vouchers for equipment and other services.

“When it comes to PIP, it is a real concern, a huge concern, that they are not ignoring the voucher scheme,” Ms Barker said. IHe worries that moving away from cash will undermine his independence.

“Vouchers can never cover all the different things we need. I need PIP for so many things.”

He added: “ PIP evaluation process People are still at fault because they don’t always get what they need. So how do we find an appraiser who can accurately submit a sufficient number of coupons?”

Kendall told MPs on the Work and Pensions Committee last week that he was aware of “real concerns” about the approach. But when Labor put forward its own proposals for PIP, it refused to rule out vouchers and grants.

Kendall also said he would bring To put forward new ideas for the reform of PIP.

The Cabinet minister confirmed the Government will seek to save billions of dollars by continuing with Conservative plans to limit who is eligible for the highest level of out-of-work benefits under the WCA process.

The DWP estimates that 457,000 disabled and chronically ill applicants who are currently judged unable to work (with limited capacity for work and work-related activity (LCWRA)) will instead be classed as fit for work.

This means they will lose £416 a month in universal credit, or ESA, and will be required to attend training and other work-related activities. The government estimates it will save the Exchequer £1.3bn a year by 2028-29.

Ms Barker, who is on £138 a week on the ESA after being assessed as having limited working capacity, is appalled by Labor’s Tory cuts.

He suffers from pain all over his body, sciatica, severe fatigue, brain fog, and paralysis. He has been unable to work for the last 20 years.

“It’s clear they want to reduce the amount spent on job aptitude assessment, which scares me,” he said. “It’s hard to see how we can successfully support people and cut money.

“Yes, there are many disabled people working,” he added. “I hope they understand that it is completely impractical to ask some disabled people to work. “There are days when even taking off clothes is tiring.”

The 52-year-old was only partially reassured that the changes to the WCA process were not expected to affect existing claimants whose conditions remained the same – just new claimants. “Even if it doesn’t affect me, will it affect the next group of MS patients?”

Ms Barker also fears the Government’s rhetoric about getting people “back to work” will be negatively affected. unfairly demonizing unemployed disabled people as vagabonds.

“If we’re not working, we’re seen as nothing more than a hindrance on society, which worries me a lot. Ministers and MPs need to understand what we are facing. If they don’t understand, why don’t they listen?”

Ross Barrett, policy director at the MS Society, called on the Government to reject PIP vouchers and “transmit this to disabled people as soon as possible”.

“PIP is a lifeline for many people, helping to cover the extra costs of being disabled, from paying for adapted vehicles to charging mobility devices.”

Stephen Bunbury, a disability law expert at the University of Westminster, said the changes to the WCA process were “causing a lot of anxiety among disabled people”.

“The new Government may say it is their plan but they are following the plans of the previous Government. “It will still be based on the premise of cutting and saving.”

The Government was contacted for opinion.