Three committees complain of ‘inadequate consultation’ over welfare reforms

Concerns about “inadequate consultation” on the UK Government’s controversial welfare reforms have been raised by parliamentary committees in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A letter to Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall also said there had been a “lack of robust data” to allow parliamentarians in the three areas to “effectively scrutinise” the potential impact of the changes.

The letter, sent by the Scottish Parliament’s Social Justice and Social Security Committee together with the Equality and Social Justice Committee of the Welsh Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Committee for Communities, comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is facing a rebellion from Labour MPs against the proposed changes.

A Commons vote on the plans to squeeze sickness and incapacity benefits is due to  go ahead on Tuesday, despite 120 Labour MPs having publicly backed a move to block the legislation.

Meanwhile, the Work and Pensions Secretary was told there are “significant concerns” about the Government’s changes.

The letter from the three committees told how the “economic backdrop” for many of those claiming disability benefits is “already extremely challenging”.

And the committees added that the payments people receive “are not symptomatic of a ‘broken’ system, but make a significant contribution to their health and wellbeing”.

They told Ms Kendall they were “agreed that inadequate consultation and engagement by the UK Government with stakeholders and the devolved institutions has contributed to this sense of concern”.

Representatives from the committees added: “In addition, the lack of robust data and jurisdiction-specific impact assessments presents significant challenges for our three committees to effectively scrutinise potential impacts.”

Here they insisted they have been “constrained by the lack of quality information”.

They added: “Our committees fully support the stated ambition that ‘no-one should be consigned to a life on benefits just because they have a health condition or a disability, especially when they’re able to and want to work with the right support in place’.

“However, in order to contribute meaningfully to the reform process, committees and citizens must be fully informed and offered every opportunity for meaningful engagement.”

A UK Government spokesperson said: “We are determined to create a welfare system – backed by dedicated employment support we are investing in now – that will help people into work and out of poverty in all parts of the country.

“We will never compromise on protecting people who need our support, and our reforms will mean the social security system will always be there for those who will never be able to work.

“We are working with devolved administrations to ensure their views are at the heart of what we do, which is why we held Green Paper consultation events in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.”