Nearly two thirds of Labour councillors from across the Tees Valley have signed a letter, urging the government to ‘pause’ upcoming personal independence payments (PIP) changes. 70 councillors from across all five local authorities have co-signed a letter, addressed to Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall. In addition to pressing for a pause, Labour councillors are pushing for comprehensive engagement with disabled people and disability rights groups while also urging a rethink from the government.
In the letter, councillors are described as “deeply concerned” by proposed PIP changes, and the impact they will have on disabled people. Councillors who have signed the letter have made clear that they are not entirely against the wider welfare reforms, pointing out that there is “much” to like, such as abolishing the Work Capability Assessment.
Impact of the proposed changes
However, fears are also raised about the wider impact of the proposed changes, with the letter asserting that an estimated £115m would be ripped out of the local Tees Valley economy if the changes to PIP were to be approved.
On PIP, the letter says: “Changing the rules to require four points in one daily living award category rather than a number of points over a wider range of categories will have a huge impact on people in our area. 65% of people in work and on PIP in Hartlepool alone score less than four points on any daily living activity.”
It adds: “As councillors, we hear directly from local people about how fearful they are about the impact of these changes. Local people rely on support from PIP to pay for care and manage the impacts of their disabilities – for many, it keeps them in work and living independently.”
Signatures
There are a total of 72 signatories to the letter, which will now be sent to Ms Kendall. 70 of those who have signed the letter are councillors from the region, including three council leaders: Councillors Alec Brown, Lisa Evans and Brenda Harrison. In addition, Chris Cooke, the elected Middlesbrough Mayor and Matt Storey, Cleveland’s Police and Crime Commissioner, have also signed the letter.
The letter follows confirmation that both of Middlesbrough’s MPs have signed the “reasoned amendment” that aims to prevent a vote taking place on the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill. Hartlepool’s Jonathan Brash is another Tees Valley MP who signed the amendment. With more than 120 Labour MPs having signed the reasoned amendment, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirmed on Wednesday June 26 that welfare concessions are on the table, ahead of next week’s vote, which is still due to take place on Tuesday July 1.
Nearly all of Middlesbrough and Hartlepool’s Labour councillors signed the letter, along with the majority of Labour councillors from Stockton as well as Redcar and Cleveland. Two councillors from Darlington also signed the joint letter.
The full list of Tees Valley Labour councillors who have signed this letter is available below:
Cllr Sajna Ali, Darlington Council
Cllr Gary Allen, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Quewone Bailey-Fleet, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Jack Banks, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Jim Beall, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Pauline Beall, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Clare Besford, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Marc Besford, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Michelle Bendelow, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Neil Bendelow, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Ian Blades, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr David Branson, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Adam Brook, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Alec Brown, Leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Ceri Cawley, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Carol Clark, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Ben Clayton, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Edward Clynch, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Fiona Cook, Hartlepool Council
Mayor Chris Cooke, Mayor of Middlesbrough
Cllr Julia Cooke, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Janine Craven, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Rachel Creevy, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Matthew Dodds, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Martin Dunbar, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Ursula Earl, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Jill Ewan, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Lisa Evans, Leader of Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Theo Furness, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Nathan Gale, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Peter Gavigan, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Pamela Hargreaves, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Brenda Harrison, Leader of Hartlepool Council
Cllr Luke Henman, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Phil Holbrook, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Michael Jorgeson, Hartlepool Council
Cllr John Kabuye, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Naweed Hussain, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Linda Lewis, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Corinne Male, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Ann McCoy, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr John McCue, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Tom Mohan, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Melanie Morley, Hartlepool Council
Cllr John Nelson, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Steve Nelson, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Karen Oliver, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Lynn Pallister, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Carrie Richardson, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Owen Riddle, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Amanda Riley, Darlington Council
Cllr Anne Romaine, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Lisa Robson, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Julia Rostron, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Lynne Rynn, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Jan Ryles, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Martin Scarborough, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Norma Stephenson OBE, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Mick Stoker, Stockton on Tees Council
Matt Storey, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland
Cllr Philippa Storey, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Carl Quartermain, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Carole Thompson, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Janet Thompson, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Zafar Uddin, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Christopher Wallace, Hartlepool Council
Cllr Katie Weston, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Paul Weston, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Barry Woodhouse, Stockton on Tees Council
Cllr Linda White, Redcar and Cleveland Council
Cllr Nicky Walker, Middlesbrough Council
Cllr Lewis Young, Middlesbrough Council
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