Debate contribution: Social Security Reform and Economic Inactivity

Debate contribution by Mr Colm Gildernew on 1 April 2025.

MLA: Mr Colm Gildernew
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 1 April 2025
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Social Security Reform and Economic Inactivity
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4876763

Text

I extend solidarity on behalf of Sinn Féin to all the people in our communities who live with disabilities. The public backlash to the cuts speaks for itself. There is huge fear and concern about what the cuts will mean for some of the most vulnerable in our society. There is also an element of shock for some people, as many — wrongly, it transpires — thought that, with the removal of the Tories from power last year, we had seen the end of Tory austerity. If anything, this Labour Government seem desperate to prove that they can be just as cruel, if not even more so, than the Tories whom they replaced. Sinn Féin has made it clear that we regard the cuts as another cynical, shocking and disgraceful attack on the most vulnerable people in our society, who need and deserve our support. The British Government have attempted to spin the cuts as being about supporting people with disabilities back into work. We need to be absolutely clear: they are about nothing of the sort. The cuts are about balancing the books. Politics is about choices, and the British Government know that there are other choices that they could make to avoid the cuts. The British Government could have chosen to increase taxes on the super-rich, but, instead, they shamefully chose to punish the sick and disabled while spending vast sums on weapons of war. While there remains so much uncertainty about who will be affected by the cuts and in what way, one thing is certain: the North will be disproportionately affected by them. The share of the population who are entitled to disability benefits is much higher here than it is in Britain, which is due to a number of reasons. We are a post-conflict society in which many people still carry the wounds, physical and mental, from years of conflict, including trans-generational impacts that continue to occur. The British Government have yet to acknowledge that fact. They need to urgently clarify what the cuts will mean for the North specifically. The British Government have also, shamefully, chosen to conflate the separate issues of supporting people to manage their disabilities and reducing economic inactivity. Our social welfare system is a safety net that is designed to support the least well-off in society to live with dignity and with a decent quality of life. People with disabilities already face so many challenges that the rest of us do not, including the many financial penalties that come with having a disability. Trussell, which is here today, has identified that 114,000 people are at risk of falling further into poverty as a result of the cuts and that three quarters of food bank users cite the fact that a person in their family has a disability. The Samaritans, who are also here today, have clearly identified the increased risk that people with disabilities and their informal unpaid carers face as a result of disability and the fact that carers will also be impacted by the cuts. It is clear that the cuts will have the effect of punishing an already vulnerable cohort of people simply because they have a disability. It is important to say that many people with disabilities are already in work and contribute to our economy every day. That fact seems to have been lost in much of the discussion about the changes. However, it is also true that, although many people living with disabilities would very much like to gain employment, the support that would allow them to do so simply does not exist. Schemes such as Workable (NI) and Access to Work provide tailored one-to-one support for people with disabilities who are seeking to gain employment, but, because of the limited funding available to them, they can be limited in what they can achieve. There is also the employment support scheme, which supports 250 disabled people to remain in employment. However, it was announced a number of months ago that the Minister was proposing to close that scheme. I urge the Minister to reconsider closing the scheme, particularly given the announcement of the cuts. I would appreciate it if he would provide some clarity.
Go raibh maith agat.
I thank the Minister. I agree. I absolutely support the aim of supporting people who are often blocked from accessing the employment opportunities that we all enjoy. If that were the aim, that is where you would start. The fact that that is not where this has started tells us that that is not the aim at all. A chairde
, we must do everything in our power to stop the cuts, and we must all stand united in opposition to them. No one should deflect from that task. The British Government must turn away from the failed ideology of austerity and, instead, invest in our people and our communities. Sinn Féin will continue to press for proper funding for public services and to protect the sick and vulnerable, while making the case for constitutional change on this island, so that decisions can be made by and in the best interests of the people here.

859 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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