Several U.K. charities representing the interests of disabled people have lambasted the government in response to proposed disability welfare reforms which they say are scapegoating the disability community for the purposes of political grandstanding.
The reforms relate to Personal Independence Payments which were themselves a flagship Conservative policy from over a decade ago to replace the long-standing Disability Living Allowance system. PIP is a non-means tested benefit available to those both in and out of work which is calculated according to an individual’s needs arising from their disability. It is intended to be a financial contribution towards the manifold additional living costs that come from having a disability or long-term health condition. These may include but are not limited to extra medical or sanitary supplies, accessibility barriers to using public transport, home adaptations and specialized assistive technology and equipment.
Yesterday, the government published its “Modernising Support” Green Paper and will go on to hold a 12-week consultation into its latest proposals. Chief amongst these and of greatest concern to disability advocates are plans to limit the availability of PIP for those suffering from mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety and to replace cash payments with redeemable vouchers and one-off grants.
The government has said that PIP claims based on mental health have sky-rocketed over the past few years jumping from an average of 2,200 a month in 2019 to 5,300 a month last year. This period of course witnessed an epoch defining global pandemic that exacerbated job insecurity and social isolation which was then immediately followed by a cost-of-living crisis.
Notwithstanding the above, the government says that, based on current predictions, expenditure on PIP will increase by 52% to £32.8 billion by 2027/28.
Announcing his government’s latest proposals Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:
“It’s clear that our disability benefits system isn’t working in the way it was intended, and we’re determined to reform it to ensure it’s sustainable for the future, so we can continue delivering support to those who genuinely need it most.
“Today’s Green Paper marks the next chapter of our welfare reforms and is part of our plan to make the benefits system fairer to the taxpayer, better targeted to individual needs and harder to exploit by those who are trying to game the system.”
A political football
The Conservative’s plans have been greeted with considerable misgivings by disability charities across the nation.
James Taylor Executive Director of pan-disability charity Scope, whose organization noted in its “Disability Price Tag 2023” report that households with at least one disabled adult or child face an estimated average extra monthly cost of £975 to equal the living standard of non-disabled households, was amongst the first to voice disappointment.
“Life costs a lot more for disabled people, including people with mental health conditions. Threatening to take away the low amount of income PIP provides won’t solve the country’s problems,” Taylor said.
He further added, “The government needs to end this reckless assault on disabled people and focus on how to fix the real underlying issues.”
A spokesperson from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which campaigns for a future free of poverty said on X, “Almost two-thirds of people in destitution have a chronic health condition or disability. People in this position shouldn’t be used as a political football. We need action, not rhetoric from politicians.”
It is a viewpoint underscored by Disability Rights UK which lamented, “We continue to be the whipping community for ALL government economic failure. Enough. This is just cruelty.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Liberal Democrat party came close to the heart of the matter when describing the proposed Tory PIP reforms as “yet another desperate pre-election gimmick.”
A general election in the country in January 2025 is expected to follow hot off the heels of a U.S. Presidential face-off.
With Keir Starmer’s Labour Party widely tipped in the polls to win a parliamentary majority, it remains doubtful as to whether the Conservatives will have enough time to get their PIP plans onto the stature given that they are only now going into the consultation phase.
Whilst it would be unreasonable to expect the presiding government to freeze its legislative agenda due to a potentially damaging upcoming election, some cynics would say that the latest PIP reforms are more a statement of intent than something that will mature into concrete legislation. Perhaps a nod to the electorate that the government is on the side of “hard-working people” and the best guardian of their tax revenues from an undeserving poor.
Inevitably, in election year, politicking and grandstanding are simply par for the course. However, it’s when society’s most vulnerable have their moment in the Westminster meat grinder that the spotlight of scrutiny should shine its brightest.