08 September 2023 , 14:27
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This week came the news disabled people have been dreading - that the DWP are “clamping down” (their words) on those who receive sickness and disability unemployment benefits.
There are currently 2.4 million people who are classed as “not fit for work”. This can be for a variety of reasons, but the minister for DWP Mel Stride isn’t concerned about little things like battling cancer or being bed-bound with chronic pain. The DWP’s consultation on the Work Capability Assessment is focused on getting those who can’t work due to disability or sickness into work, instead of supporting those who can’t. Stride says that 25.9 billion were spent on “incapacity (urgh) benefits” a year, and that “1 in 5 people currently not expected to prepare for work would like to work in the future”
So let's delve into this. Okay yes, that is a big chunk of cash, but it’s just under half of what's lost to unpaid taxes (42 billion), there’s also the £15 billion a year they save from people who don't claim universal credit and the 3.3 billion that was underpaid last year. And whilst 1 in 5 disabled people would like to work, that’s still 4 in 5 who can’t, who are terrified of losing their benefits and either starving to death or being forced into work that will kill them.
But really, it’s the government that’s crippled by these money-grabbing, work-shy disability fakers. Well, that’s the story you’re getting if you follow certain pundits. Speaking of, you might’ve seen me on TV this week. I was on the Alexis Conran show on Channel 5 talking about this. I was at home whilst in the studio the panel was Lin Mei and Owen Jones.
I thought I did a pretty good job of explaining that the government needs to change assessments to incorporate the nuance of disability better, using the example that I can work for a few hours and then have to spend the rest of the day in bed. I also thought I held my own with Lin Mei interrupting me to shout about how people want to work and can do it from home with support. I explained how not only does not everyone have computer literacy (1 in 3 disabled people don’t) or can afford a computer/ internet, but that disabled people have fought to work from home for years and denied it until COVID-19.
Nail salon refuses to serve disabled teen saying it 'doesn't do people like her'
So you can imagine my surprise when Lin shared a clip saying “Rachel could appear on TV.. but could feel exhausted, so wouldn’t like to work the following days”. I, stupidly, engaged with her and was met with claims such as that I should try to work part-time and that “your feeling of exhaustion for many isn’t reason enough if you can appear on TV get your nails done hair done”.
Ignoring her telling me to work (which I was doing), the idea that I can’t have nice hair and nails whilst being disabled isn’t new. It’s a common tactic by the DWP themselves to prove people don’t need benefits. Last month there was data by YouGov released in which 88% of people thought that those on benefits shouldn’t have regular beauty treatments - the same survey found that 24% of people said we shouldn't be able to afford bills and 26% basic food.
Disabled people deserve a welfare system that supports us both if we want to work and if we can’t. We also deserve to treat ourselves in this miserable world that is intent on grinding us down. If Stride is serious about wanting to help get disabled people into work then he needs to prove it. We need an efficient access to work system, that doesn't prevent us from taking up jobs with years of delays. There needs to be government-backed training for companies on how to best support disabled people and tougher legislation on disability discrimination.
But at the same time, there also needs to be a reform of benefits assessment that are done by trained professionals and an increase on how much someone can earn whilst still claiming Universal Credit before it’s deducted- so that we actually can take up part-time work. Disabled people need a government that listens to us and assesses our needs properly, not based on whether they think we’re disabled enough. When we get down to it we just deserve basic human decency and compassion, that we’re not getting right now.
The right would prefer it if disabled people on benefits lived in squalor, eating gruel and wearing sacks but that says more about them than us. Unfortunately, this disgusting sentiment is fed to the common man through the government and certain parts of the media. The fact is, disabled and unemployed people aren’t coming for your tax money. But the rich whose companies are contracted to do shoddy work by their dodgy government mates are, and they’re the ones who are running the narrative. You can't "force disabled people into work". You can, however, deprive people of benefits until they die or force them into work that kills them. The DWP consultation on the WCA runs until October 30th, please fill it out if you can.