Like very many others we’re really worried about the UK Welfare Reform Bill. It will have a devastating impact on people who are already struggling. There will be more pressure placed on the already creaking fragile system of support available.

We’d like to thank the Welsh MPs that voted against the bill and for their efforts to challenge this important issue. We also welcome Jane Hutt, MS, calling out the disproportionate impact this will have in Wales.

And although some crucial changes have now been made, and the voices of those campaigning against the cuts have at least in part been heard, concerns remain. For existing claimants, the situation is now more stable. But for future claimants reductions to support are still on the table, particularly for those claiming for health-related reasons.

Falling on difficult times is now more dangerous in the UK than it was before the Bill was introduced.

That’s not the way forward. A recent Amnesty UK report (April 2025) shows how cuts, sanctions and systemic failings of the social security system are pushing people deeper into poverty. We know this will increase mental ill health across Wales (WHO, 2015), making this is a serious human rights and social justice issue and a major public health concern.

In a response to a consultation, the Welsh government backed figures that £470m could be lost from the country’s economy, and said disabled people are worried about an increased risk of depression and suicide.

We are deeply concerned about the mental health of those this will impact and those that will worry they may become subject to it. It will perpetuate the vicious poverty and mental ill health cycle locking future generations of children into this debilitating trap too.

• You can read more here about our initial concerns back when the bill was announced.

We know the original austerity cuts cost people their lives, and led to overwhelm and suicide. We must learn from that.

The 2010 austerity cuts and the 2012 Welfare Reform Act changes impacted people significantly, not just in terms of the money in their pocket but their health too. The rate of improvement of life expectancy in the United Kingdom slowed significantly after 2010, following decades of prior rapid growth..

An estimated 190,000 excess deaths have also been directly linked to the austerity cuts from 2010 to 2019, representing a 3% increase in mortality over this period (Berman & Hovland, 2024). Austerity cuts cause mental distress and are linked to a rise in suicides (Antonakakis & Collins, 2015). A 2016 UN investigate found these policy decisions were a “grave or systematic violations” of the UN’s disability convention.

It’s clear: a robust social safety net is a mental health intervention.

Robust social safety measutes will prevent mental ill health and support reducing demand already overstretched mental health services for children, adults and older adults. It will support the improvement of health outcomes for babies in the crucial first 1000 days too. And, ultimately, it will help Wales prosper.

We know the Welsh Government will be limited in how they can respond but urge them to continue dedication to plans for a “coherent and compassionate” approach to the way benefits are delivered in Wales.

References

Amnesty UK Social Insecurity Report

Antonakakis N, Collins A. (2015). The impact of fiscal austerity on suicide mortality: Evidence across the ‘Eurozone periphery’. Soc Sci Med. 2015 Nov;145:63-78. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.09.033. Epub 2015 Sep 30. PMID: 26458118. The impact of fiscal austerity on suicide mortality: Evidence across the ‘Eurozone periphery’ – PubMed

Berman, Y. and Hovland, T. (2024). The cost of austerity: How UK public spending cuts led to 190,000 excess deaths – LSE Inequalities

£470m could be lost from the country’s economy

Disability News (2016) UN’s conclusion that UK violated disability rights is ‘vindication’ for activists – Disability News Service

WHO (2015). Social determinants of mental health