MACMILLAN Cancer Support is urging all MPs in North Yorkshire to uphold the Lord’s amendments to the Welfare Reform and Work Bill, as this will ensure that people with cancer and other long-term illnesses, who are too ill to work but capable of work in the future, do not see their benefits reduced by £30 a week.

Current figures show that if MPs don’t uphold these amendments, at least 6,000 people in North Yorkshire alone could be left without vital financial support.

Macmillan is also worried that some MPs might reject the Lord’s amendments without realising that doing so will push some people with cancer over the edge financially.

Our survey shows that over half of Conservative MPs (54%) do not know that the Government’s proposed changes will affect people who have had cancer. Just over a third of all MPs (38%) are unaware of this impact.

Macmillan knows the financial burden that many people with cancer face. The charity found that four in five (83%) people with cancer are on average £570 a month worse off as a result of their diagnosis.

As the Bill moves to its final stages, we hope MPs in North Yorkshire recognise the impact that any cuts to benefits will have.

Dawn Graham, Senior Macmillan development manager, North of England, Macmillan Cancer Support, Fawcett Street, York