We are deeply concerned about the welfare cuts announced today in the Spring Statement. These cuts will come into place during an already difficult cost-of-living crisis that has a disproportionate impact on Black and Global Majority (BGM) communities. According to recent data from the Runnymede Trust, BGM communities are 2.5 times more likely to be in relative poverty, and 2.2 times more likely to be in deep poverty (having an income that falls more than 50% below the relative poverty line), than their White counterparts.
Our own research shows BGM communities have the highest levels of homelessness risks, with Black people being three and a half times as likely to experience statutory homelessness as White British people. These welfare cuts sit against this context of systemic racial injustices, and they are highly likely to exacerbate the risks of poverty and homelessness.
We are particularly concerned about the cuts to the Personal Independence Payments and incapacity benefits. BGM communities face the compounding effects of racism and ableism, leading to disparities in health, healthcare, and employment. We see these welfare cuts as presenting an increased risk of exacerbating these inequalities. These brutal cuts will result in disabled people losing vital benefits and being pushed further into poverty and isolation.
We agree with the Resolution Foundation that these welfare cuts deliver minimal income gains for up to four million households, at cost of major income losses for those who are too ill to work or no longer qualify for disability benefit support. However, we also add that these major income losses will have a disproportionate impact on BGM communities, particularly those who are disabled persons and/or struggling with mental illnesses.
We urge the government to provide transparency on the extent to which it has conducted an impact assessment on the increased risks that these cuts would bring to BGM communities.
Finally, ROTA believes that this is a time for investment in our communities and that racial justice needs to be at the centre of the government’s growth strategy. Racial justice and economic prosperity are not trade-offs, rather they are mutually dependent, particularly in our diverse British society.