Survey launched for disabled people on Welfare Reforms

Sioned Williams MS, Plaid Cymru Member of Senedd for South Wales West, has launched a survey to find out the views of people in the region she represents on changes being made by the UK Labour Government to support for disabled people.

Wales has a higher proportion of people receiving disability benefits than many other parts of the UK.

While the UK Government has revised some of its original proposals, which means that fewer people will be directly affected than initially intended, Ms Williams says that concerns remain about the “long-term impact on new claimants and the wider community, especially as reforms could be re-introduced following review.”

Sioned Williams MS wants to hear views from people in South Wales West, which has one of the largest disability pay gaps in Wales.

Sioned Williams MS, Plaid Cymru Member of Senedd for South Wales West, said:

“When the UK Labour Government initially proposed changes to disability benefits, it left a lot of people scared for the future. While some of their original cuts have been scrapped following pressure from campaigners, we are now weeks away from a new UK budget and there is still a lot of fear and uncertainty about what the future holds in terms of the availability of vital support for disabled people.

“As Chair of the cross-party group in the Senedd on Learning Disability and Plaid Cymru’s Spokesperson on Equalities, I’ve had some of these concerns raised directly with me, but there are many other people who will be impacted by any changes whose voices I want to hear.

“In particular, I want to find out how people think welfare reform would affect their ability to manage everyday life and impact on their financial situation.

“Some areas of my region have the highest disability pay gap in Wales and this could be an indication that there are barriers that don’t exist in other parts of the country, therefore I’m also keen to find out what kind of support would help people feel more confident about accessing work or training opportunities, if that’s something they’re interested in.”

The survey is available on Sioned Williams’ website, is available in Easy Read, British Sign Language and can be completed anonymously.