The Archbishop of Wales is urging the new Welfare Secretary to stop cuts in support for disabled and sick people.

Dr Barry Morgan has signed an open letter with other Christians from all walks of life calling on the former Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb to change the Government’s course on welfare cuts and abolish the Bedroom Tax.

The letter is also signed by Carmarthenshire vicar, Rev’d Dr John Gillibrand, a campaigner for disability issues, as well as a range of people from all walks of life, including film maker Frank Cottrell-Boyce and author David Lodge.

Specifically addressed to Mr Crabb, new UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, as a Christian believer, the letter highlights the centrality of compassion and social justice in the Christian tradition. It declares that “now is the time to take stock and begin to adopt a different approach” from that of cuts to benefits and welfare support for the most vulnerable.

The Archbishop says, “When he was Secretary of State for Wales Stephen Crabb considered evidence against the proposed Wales Bill and was prepared to change his mind about it. We hope he will be equally open-minded in his new role and will drive through the crucial changes needed for meaningful welfare reform.”

Following Mr Crabb’s reversal of the cuts to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) overseen by his predecessor, Iain Duncan Smith, the open letter calls for further changes to PIP – including reverting to the previous mobility criterion, the ability to walk no more than 50 metres, rather than the current test of being able to walk no more than 20 metres.

Signatories also want the UK government to reverse the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) cut of £30 a week, to review the impact of benefit sanctions on the health of sick and disabled people, and to abolish the Bedroom Tax (spare room subsidy).

They further ask the new Secretary of State to “immediately examine the way your department [the DWP] has in the past responded to letters from coroners regarding the deaths of benefit claimants, particularly the Rule 43 ’prevention of future deaths’ process.”

Virginia Moffatt from Ekklesia said, “After six years of devastating cuts to welfare that have caused intolerable misery and harm to sick and disabled people and their families, it is time for a new approach.

“The appointment of a new Secretary of State at the Department of Work and Pensions provides a welcome opportunity to stop, reflect and find an alternative way of working. We hope that Mr Crabb will respond positively to the issues we are raising and agree to meet us and the sick and disabled people with whom we work.”