Sheffield City Council are to face immense pressures after the government announced their aim to save £5 billion by 2030 through cuts in disability and illness benefits, a top councillor has said.

The Green Party called on the Sheffield City Council on Wednesday to hold the government accountable and track the impact on people who are being affected by the cuts to welfare benefits in Sheffield.

Green Party Councillor Angela Argenzio, Chair of the Adult Health and Social Care Committee said: “The reductions in funding for those in need will only add pressures on councils like Sheffield.

“Decisions like these simply create more hardship for people who need support the most.”

Citizens Advice have helped with 8,362 issues relating to Personal Independence Payment within Sheffield in 2023-2024.

Since the pandemic, the number of people receiving PIP has more than doubled, from 15,300 a month to 35,100.

The government said they aim to continue to protect and support disabled people who can’t work through practices such as income protection and extra financial support.

Sian Cook, 34, said: “People are taking advantage of our welfare system and leaving the people who need it the most to face the consequences.

“My sister mothers two small children, she relies on PIP due to her disability, it allows her to continue to support and provide for her children despite her circumstances, how is she meant to keep doing this if it is being taken away from her?”

As part of their reform, the Government will increase face-to-face assessments for PIP in order to improve the quality of the assessment and accurately determine those who meet the criteria.

The government announced their initiative on Wednesday to reform the UK’s welfare system as a result of the significant rise in people receiving Personal Independence Payments since the pandemic.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “More than 1,000 people are qualifying for Personal Independence Payments every single day and one in eight young people are not in employment, education or training.

“If we do nothing, we are writing off an entire generation.”

For more information, refer to: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/biggest-shake-up-to-welfare-system-in-a-generation-to-get-britain-working