MPs warn of 'destitution' risk

Government welfare reforms risk plunging people into "destitution" which breaches their human rights, senior MPs and peers warned today.

Parliament's joint committee on human rights raised a series of concerns about plans to strip benefits from people who refuse to work.

It said a five-day limit for people to inform authorities they are unable to work may be "unrealistic" and questioned whether benefit assessors had the "tools necessary" to judge what activity people could carry out.

The committee also raised fears that disabled people could be disproportionately hit by a cap on housing benefit.

A source close to Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said there was "nothing for people to be afraid of".