Disquiet about the impacts of welfare reform on disabled people has been mounting for some time. Regularly we see reports that describe the “untenable human costs” of welfare reform, and the subsequent “grave and systematic” violations of the rights of disabled people. Despite these flurries of reporting and public outcry, however, it is perhaps easy to forget the cumulative impact welfare reform has had on Britain’s disabled.

Within this context, myself and colleagues at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research were commissioned by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to carry out a review of the impact of welfare reform, to examine the evidence on the ways in which “protected groups” have been affected. Published today, our report collates over 400 studies and shows that welfare reform has had a devastating impact on Britain’s most disadvantaged—and particularly on the disabled.

Through the culmination of multiple cuts and restrictions to entitlement, disabled people have been extensively and disproportionately affected by welfare reform.

Among the most shocking findings is the fact that, as a result of policy changes made between May 2010 and January 2018, families with at least one disabled adult and one disabled child are now £6,50…

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