DISABLED people in Inverclyde have had to fight to claw back more than £1m taken from them by the government in the last year.

The figures are exposed in a new council report that sets out the impact welfare reforms are having in Inverclyde - one of the hardest hit areas in the UK under controversial changes to the regime.

In the latest wave of reforms a third of all those forced to change to personal independence payments (PIP) have been stripped of disability benefits altogether.

But according to the new report even those who were 'successful' in their PIP claims in the first instance face huge financial losses.

Now hard-pressed council welfare rights officers are facing a tidal wave of tribunals to reverse the hardship.

Inverclyde's health and social care chief is warning that helping the 4,000 local claimants moving to PIP is the single biggest challenge they will face this year.

In a report chief officer Brian Moore said: "The range of welfare reforms introduced over the last few years is significant. 

"The increase in conditionality and sanction regimes; introduction of benefit cap and universal credit will all impact on the local community. 

"However the introduction of, and migration to, personal independence payments is likely to be the biggest challenge.

"One of the stated aims of government when PIP was introduced was to reduce the numbers receiving disability benefits."

Mr Moore has cited research from a new study from Sheffield Hallam University which shows that people in Inverclyde relying on disability benefits are among the hardest hit by reforms.

Inverclyde is the third worst affected area in Scotland and in the top 20 in the UK. 

Last year the welfare rights team took on nearly 700 appeals for claimants in Inverclyde, clawing back £1.2m.

Since October 2015 people previously on disability living allowance (DLA) have been changing over to PIP and statistics for the first three months showed that 32 per cent of those reassessed lost all entitlement to disability benefit. 

Of the remaining 68 per cent who secured an award of PIP there is no guarantee the award was similar to the sum previously received by way of DLA.

Successful but reduced awards of PIP can still result in substantial financial loss and loss of motability vehicles.