A United Nations committee on disability rights has warned that the UK’s flagship welfare overhaul could deepen poverty among disabled people and undo recent progress on inclusion. In a formal letter to ministers, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities raised ten areas of concern about the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, saying the package appears to have had “limited scrutiny” and risks a “regression” in living standards. The panel also asked the government to explain public statements by politicians suggesting that some disabled claimants “make profit” from benefits. The intervention follows growing domestic criticism that planned cuts to sickness-related Universal Credit payments will leave many severely disabled people worse off. Charities including Scope, Z2K and the MS Society say the legislation fails to protect people with progressive or fluctuating conditions, while the proposed Severe Conditions Criteria would insulate only an estimated 200,000 claimants—about 8 percent of those currently receiving the health element. Ministers insist the reforms will move more people into work and “lift 50,000 people out of poverty”, but the government’s own initial impact assessment indicated an earlier version could have pushed 250,000 into hardship. The bill cleared its first Commons hurdle on 1 July by 335 votes to 260 after late concessions to Labour rebels and returns to Parliament on Wednesday for further consideration.