The spring statement: Personal Independent Payments are economic drivers and social enterprises' employability stats are evidence of this, says Andy Paterson

This week the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced her spring statement would be “reforming the welfare state” because in its current form it is “indefensible, economically and morally”.

This translates to cuts in the welfare and health budget of over £6 billion, with £4.7bn coming directly from disability benefits.

“This is not about lines on a graph, but improving people’s lives” was the tagline to the chancellor’s speech, making these cuts to welfare will affect the most vulnerable and impact our economy.

Personal Independent Payments (PIP) is a benefit that helps with the extra living costs of having a long-term physical or mental disability or having difficulty doing certain everyday tasks due to their condition. PIP is available if you are working, have savings or receive most other benefits.

These payments are absolutely crucial to allow those with a disability into work. Whether that is using PIP for accessible hardware for someone to work from home, purchasing a vehicle that has accessible controls to allow someone to leave their home. These benefits allow more people in our communities to live independently.

PIP is directly linked to inflation and often rises when inflation does to allow the value of the payment to be retained. Between 2010-2019 the Conservative chancellor, George Osborne, instituted a program of austerity across the UK finances with the objective of recovery from the financial crash in 2008. These cuts were severe and across almost all sections of government. The austerity programme caused an excess of 300,000 deaths across the UK. PIP was excluded from these cuts.

What is being suggested by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) now is the freezing of PIP payments from 2026, meaning their value will decline and the mass recessing of who receives these payments. Payments which put people into work and allow people to support themselves a little easier than they would otherwise.

PIP in 2022 was moved across to Social Security Scotland and is received in the form of Adult Disability Payments (ADS). This has taken some time to be completely moved across and should finish in the spring of 2025, yet 35,000 people are still on PIP in Scotland.

Although ADS is now under the control of the Scottish Government, with a freezing of PIP at UK level this would have a potential knock-on effect to the Scottish budget in 2026 with the Fraser of Allander Institute highlighting Scottish Government budget would be worse off by £900 million from 2029 if these cuts are not reversed.

Social enterprises across Scotland are well known for their open policies of employment. Our last census showed that 10% of board members of social enterprises have a disability or long-term health condition. Leaders of social enterprises were 21% identified with having a disability and 53% of social enterprises employ people with disabilities. This is a significantly higher percentage than the public sector at 21% and private sector at 18.5% in Scotland.

Social enterprises in Scotland have long demonstrated that inclusion and economic success go hand in hand. By actively recruiting and supporting employees with disabilities, these organisations prove that meaningful employment is not only possible but essential for building stronger communities.

Their ability to create flexible roles, adapt working environments, and champion diverse leadership shows what is achievable when we break down barriers instead of reinforcing them. At a time when policies risk excluding those most in need of opportunity, social enterprise stands as a powerful example of what fair and inclusive employment does achieve.

Social enterprises have led the way in championing inclusive employment - what message does it send when vital support systems like PIP are cut, with the DWP’s impact assessment revealing that these proposed cuts will put 250,000 people into poverty, with 50,000 of them being children?

Protecting these ADS and PIP payments isn’t just about financial stability – it’s about safeguarding independence, opportunity and dignity for thousands of people across Scotland. If we weaken the support that enables people with disabilities to thrive, what kind of society are we choosing to build?

Andy Paterson is a policy officer at Social Enterprise Scotland.