Ministers reject United Nations report that slammed them for cuts that ‘gravely violated’ rights of disabled Brits
Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green branded the findings 'outdated'
MINISTERS last night furiously rejected a UN report that declared Government welfare cuts had “gravely violated” the rights of the disabled.
Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green blasted the UN’s report - written by authors who previously called on taxpayers’ cash to be spent on prostitutes for disabled people – branding it “outdated”.
He said: “At the heart of this report lies an outdated view of disability which is patronising and offensive. We strongly refute its findings.
“The UN measures success as the amount of money poured into the system, rather than the work and health outcomes for disabled people. Our focus is on helping disabled people find and stay in work, whilst taking care of those who can’t.”
The scathing report by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on measures to curb the benefits bill claimed they had “disproportionately” hit disabled people.
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It said welfare cuts have resulted in “grave or systematic violations” of the rights of disabled people in the UK.
And it criticised the “bedroom tax” saying that combined with the benefits cap and changes to housing allowances the rights of disabled people to choose a home had been “curtailed”.
But ministers last night insisted the UK was a “world leader in disabled rights and equality”.
Senior Tory MP James Cleverly fumed: “It is for the British people to decide how we use public money not these meddling pen-pushers.
“We already provide well above average levels of support for those living with disabilities and while we can always go further, the biased assumptions in this report don’t do anyone any favours.”
And Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns – who sits on the powerful Commons Health select Committee – added: “If the UN’s benchmark is spending taxpayers cash on prostitutes, no wonder the common sense policies of the UK fall short.”
But Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Debbie Abrahams said: “The UN report confirms that, despite Theresa May’s warm words, this Government is failing sick and disabled people.”