Ann Davies

I will allow the Minister to answer that in his closing statement. I could not possibly comment. My constituent Clare Jacques has several disabilities, including arthritis. She currently receives PIP, which has helped her to build on her master’s degree in equality and diversity in work and allowed additional support, such as the ability to have a carer accompany her when necessary. Ms Jacques does not have four points in any one part of the daily living component. Versus Arthritis has calculated that 79% of people who claim PIP in Wales for arthritis alone score fewer than four points, which is nearly 17,000 people. This is not just about claimants. Mencap, which has been mentioned, has estimated that over 13,000 carers may lose their carer’s allowance in Wales due to caring for people with fewer than four points. The Government’s justification for this suffering is completely flawed. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found that 60% of recipients scoring four or fewer points are already in employment in England and Wales, rising to 63% in my constituency of Caerfyrddin. The UK Government claim that their amendments to the Bill will lessen the blow—we will have to wait until after Second Reading to see them—but they are set to penalise people who become disabled after the arbitrary cut-off date of November 2026. What data has informed these concessions, and what specific evidence suggests that people can pick and choose when they become sick or disabled, because that to me looks like discrimination? Legal experts for the Equity union agree that it could be “unlawful on the grounds of arbitrariness.” Such arbitrariness looks half-baked considering the PIP assessment review will be published only in autumn 2026. The UK Government’s amendments to the Bill do not address the fundamental injustice at the heart of these measures. Is plunging 150,000 people into poverty rather than 250,000 really a marker of success? Is only punishing people who will get ill or disabled in future, or those who turn 18 later, really a sign of a fair and compassionate welfare reform? I call on hon. Members across this House, and particularly my friends on the Labour Benches, to vote against this cruel Bill. The Labour UK Government must abandon these damaging plans entirely, and instead create a welfare system founded on dignity, equity and compassion, and one developed with disabled people and representative organisations. Plaid Cymru Members will be voting for the reasoned amendment moved by the hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) and against the Second Reading of the Bill.