The Plymouth Green Party has criticised the Government’s Welfare Reform Bill for failing to account for the needs of veterans – particularly younger ones – warning it risks withdrawing vital support from those medically discharged or struggling with the transition to civilian life.
The Bill proposes significant changes to the Universal Credit system, including removing the health element for claimants under 22. This would hit Early Service Leavers and medically discharged younger veterans the hardest.
A Royal British Legion spokesperson told iNews:
“We are concerned that proposed welfare reforms could negatively impact the Armed Forces community, particularly younger veterans. Delaying access to the health element of Universal Credit until age 22 may leave Early Service Leavers and those medically discharged without vital support during a vulnerable period of transition to civilian life.”
Despite this, both of Plymouth’s Labour MPs – Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard and Fred Thomas, a veteran himself – have expressed support for the Bill, even though no veteran-specific impact assessment has yet been published.
Mike Kewish, Green Party campaigner and Royal Navy veteran, says:
Plymouth is proud of its military heritage but these cuts betray that pride. Younger military personnel deserve to be treated with respect. They deserve assurance that our country will be there for them, as they are for us.”
In Afghanistan alone, the average age of casualties was 22 with at least 35 deaths for those aged 19. To become disabled whilst serving your country in any capacity and faced with not receiving the disabled element of Universal Credit because of age, creates an unfair, two-tier system.”
A response to a Parliamentary Written Question confirmed that the Department for Work and Pensions is only “carefully considering the potential impacts… including on veterans”, but no assessment or protections have been made public before MPs vote on the bill tomorrow.
Cllr Lauren McLay, Green councillor for Plympton Chaddlewood, who recently wrote an open letter to both MPs urging them to oppose the measures, added:
“It’s alarming that such major changes are being rushed through without proper data. Plymouth’s disabled community deserves better than vague promises and blind decision-making.”
The risks of the Welfare Reform Bill are extensive, it threatens the financial security, health, and dignity of disabled people across Plymouth and the UK. Councillor Lauren McLay has warned that the reforms represent a fundamental shift away from fairness and support toward a system “designed to punish, not protect.”
Cllr McLay said: “The government is seeking to balance the books on the backs of disabled people whilst creating a two-tier system where people with similar conditions receive different support depending only on when they became disabled. That’s senseless discrimination.”
Cllr McLay brought a motion to Plymouth City Council in June asking councillors to oppose the government’s measures, but it was voted down by Labour and abstained on by the Conservatives.
Councillor Lauren McLay says:
“This Bill poses a direct risk to NHS and local authority budgets with The Disability Policy Centre estimating that councils will face £1.50 in additional care costs for every £1 lost in disability support. With adult social care in Plymouth already under enormous pressure, this bill shifts the financial burden of supporting disabled people away from central government and onto local councils — jeopardising Plymouth’s ability to meet statutory duties and support those in need.”
“That’s why I’ve now appealed directly to our MPs,” she said. “Our MPs must do what our local politicians failed to do – stand up for our city’s most vulnerable. The evidence is clear, these reforms will harm our community and they cannot be supported.”