HUNDREDS of thousands of people living in disabled households will be at risk of needing to use a foodbank due to the government’s brutal welfare cuts, research found today. 

Anti-poverty charity Trussell found that 440,000 people would be forced into severe hardship and at risk of relying on food donations by 2029/2030 as a direct result of the measures.

Commissioning WPI Economics for the analysis, the report found that a planned rise to the basic increase of universal credit (UC) in 2029 should keep 95,000 of these out of severe hardship, although this is nowhere near enough to make up for the cuts.

In March, Labour announced plans to inflict £5 billion a year in welfare cuts by the end of the decade.

The plans will see eligibility tightened for personal independence payments (PIP) — a key disability benefit, and those under 22 will no longer be able to claim the incapacity benefit top-up of UC.

MPs are preparing to vote on legislation to introduce the cuts later this month.

More than 100 MPs are understood to have signed a private letter urging the government to rethink the changes.

Helen Barnard, director of policy at Trussell, said: “This government was elected on a promise of change and with a commitment to end the need for foodbanks. 

“If the government goes ahead with these ill-considered and cruel cuts to social security, this promise will not be kept — and instead, they will risk leaving behind a legacy of rising poverty and hunger.”

She said that the cuts will also undermine the government’s goal to increase employment: “Slashing support will damage people’s health and reduce their ability to engage in training and work.”

Trussell’s analysis comes just weeks after it revealed that almost three million emergency food parcels were distributed across Britain during the past year — a 51 per cent increase compared to five years ago.

A government spokesperson said: “This government is determined to change people’s lives for the better, helping them out of poverty and tackling the unacceptable rise in food bank dependence in recent years.

“We will never compromise on protecting people who need our support and our reforms will mean the social security system will always be there for those who will never be able to work and that their income is protected.”