Older people with bad backs and joint pain will be the worst affected by the government’s disability benefit cuts, the government has accepted.
Figures reveal that more than three-quarters of those claiming personal independence payments (PIPs) for conditions including arthritis and back pain will lose their benefits in the cost-cutting drive.
Meanwhile, less than half of those claiming for depression and anxiety will be affected, while just a fifth of those claiming for ADHD will be hit. The two categories are those which are growing the quickest.
And, while around a quarter of those in their 20s will lose payments, more than half of those over 40 will be hit by the cuts.
The figures, first reported by The Times, also show around a third of people with cancer, half of people with multiple sclerosis and a quarter of those who have cerebral palsy will be affected.
The figures emerged ahead of a speech in which the work and pensions secretary doubled down on Labour’s planned £5 billion welfare cuts.
Liz Kendall argued the reform is needed to keep the welfare state intact, warning there is a risk it could collapse without tightening eligibility for PIP.
Restricting PIP is expected to slash benefits for about 800,000 people, while the sickness-related element of universal credit is also set to be cut.
The package of measures is aimed at reducing the number of working-age people on sickness benefits, which grew during the pandemic and has remained high since.
The government hopes the proposals can save £5bn a year by the end of the decade.
"Unless we ensure public money is focused on those with the greatest need and is spent in ways that have the best chance of improving people's lives, the risk is the welfare state won't be there for people who really need it in the future," she said in a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank.
She said the government is "grasping the nettle of welfare reform. Not for the sake of it, but to save it".
The aim is to give people "opportunities" so they can "build a better life", she said.
But she sparked fresh uproar from campaigners, with charities saying the cuts would push more disabled people into poverty.
Tom Marsland, head of policy at disability charity Sense, said: “Almost half of disabled people with complex needs are already in debt because their benefit payments don't cover the essentials, and the Government's own figures show these proposed reforms will push more people into poverty.
“We agree that the welfare system isn't currently working for disabled people - but increasing the number of disabled people in poverty will never be the solution.”
And Charlotte Gill, head of policy at the MS Society, said it is “disappointed by the government’s decision to double down on harmful benefits cuts in the name of cost saving”.
She added: “Removing this support will result in people being forced to leave work, lose their independence, or even be pushed into poverty. Disabled people should not be forced to shoulder the government’s savings whether in or out of work. We urge them to rethink and abandon these devastating cuts.”
The government is determined to press ahead with the plans despite mounting opposition.
Some 100 Labour MPs – more than a quarter of the party's parliamentary numbers – are believed to have signed a letter urging ministers to scale back welfare cuts under consideration.
In a separate, earlier letter, 42 MPs said the cuts were "impossible to support".
Rachel Reeves's local Labour party, Leeds West and Pudsey Constituency Labour Party (CLP), has, meanwhile, agreed to write to the Chancellor voicing its opposition to the cuts.
A motion passed by the PLP said disabled people "are not responsible for the state of the national finances and should not be made to pay the price for Tory economic mismanagement".
Media reports have suggested ministers could remove the two-child benefit cap or reconsider its decision to means test the winter fuel payment for pensioners to placate Labour rebels.
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