Veterans should be exempt from disability assessments as part of UK Government welfare reforms – Plaid Cymru
MPs are set to vote on the UK Government’s welfare reforms next Tuesday
During PMQs today (Wednesday 25 June) Ben Lake MP urged the UK Government to commit to ensuring that veterans with service-related injuries to be automatically exempt from repeat disability assessments.
The Ceredigion Preseli MP explained the way in which veterans who have lost limbs and continue to live with the trauma of war are faced with repeat disability assessment just to prove their disabilities.
The UK Government announced its plan to tighten the eligibility criteria for PIP from November 2026, potentially resulting in reduced payments for many, including veterans living with service-related disabilities.
MPs are set to vote on the reforms next Tuesday (1 July), which are expected to save the Treasury £5bn a year in savings.
However, there is growing rebellion against Keir Starmer’s plans, with over 120 of his own MPs having already publicly opposed them.
Speaking in PMQs, Ben Lake MP said:
“I should like to join the Deputy Prime Minister in thanking members of the Armed Forces community for their service. I’ve had the privilege in recent months of meeting many veterans in my own constituency, some of whom still carry the trauma of war. Some, including amputees, have told me how repeat disability assessments are too often required of them in order to access financial support.
“So does the Deputy Prime Minister agree with me that veterans with life changing service-related injuries should be exempt from repeat disability assessments in future?”
Angela Rayner MP, the Deputy Prime Minister, who was standing in for the PM today, said:
“Mr. Speaker, again as part of the reforms we want to do is to ensure that those who can never work are properly supported and not put through this endless assessment, and I thank the Right Hon. Member for raising the case.
“We are committed to renewing the nation’s contract with those that have served, with a range of support in place for veterans, including dedicated medical and physical healthcare, pathways in the NHS and in employment and in housing. The new support system VALOUR backed by £50m of funding will provide a network of support centres to connect veterans with local and national services.”
Speaking after the session, Ben Lake MP said:
“It is unfair to force people to undergo reassessments for permanent conditions and disabilities to access financial support, and it is cruel to require amputees and others with life changing injuries to continually re-prove their disablement.
“The UK Government should look to address this injustice as a matter of urgency, but instead their proposed welfare reforms risk placing further barriers for those with disabilities to overcome. In Wales, where 32% of disabled people already live in poverty, the Government’s proposed changes will simply exacerbate this injustice.
“The UK Government must take this opportunity to address the injustices of the current welfare system instead of making it even harder for those with disabilities to access the support to which they are entitled.”