Angry protest against government’s 'life-threatening' cuts and changes to support for people with disabilities

The group Crips Against Cuts organised a protest at Portsmouth Guildhall Square yesterday (Saturday, April 6) in opposition to the proposals which would see at least £5bn cut from disability benefits .

The government’s plans include:

• Changing the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment criteria which means fewer people will qualify for support
• More face-to-face PIP assessments with all assessments potentially recorded and better advice given for claimants about what medical evidence is required
• Scrapping the existing Work Capability Assessment and reintroducing reassessments for people on incapacity benefits who have the capability to work to ensure they can if given the right level of support
• Merging ESA and Jobseeker's Allowance to make a new ‘unemployment insurance’ benefit
• Changing the rate of Universal Credit and additional allowances
• An end to reassessments for people with the most severe, life-long conditions who will never be able to work

However disabled campaigners have said the ‘life threatening cuts’ will have a serious impact, with the government’s reasoning behind the cuts flawed. Watch the video embedded in this story to hear from one of the campaigners in Portsmouth to hear more about why they are protesting against the proposed changes.