Budget disability benefit proposal changes described as 'a disaster for disabled people'

The proposals for change to disability benefits announced by the Chancellor yesterday have been described as “a disaster for disabled people and people with health conditions”.

Derry City and Strabane District councillor Maeve O'Neill (People Before Profit) said: “Jeremy Hunt said his “Landmark reforms” to the benefits system are aimed at changing the emphasis “from what people can’t do, to what they can”.

"Many of us cheered when he said they would end the hated Work Capability Assessment (WCA) but we quickly stopped cheering when we realised that this means that the only people who will receive additional benefits because they are sick or disabled are those who have been awarded PIP.

"The Chancellor explained that the new Universal Credit (UC) health element “will be awarded to people who are receiving the UC standard allowance and any PIP element”.

“However, this leaves the many people “not disabled enough” to be awarded PIP with the same benefits as non-disabled job seekers and at the mercy of a benefits system which has pushing people into work as its main aim and which relies heavily on sanctions.

"People with poor mental health would be particularly at risk from such a system."
 
Cllr O’Neill says that the problems disabled people and those with health conditions have in getting employment “are not the fault of disabled people themselves but with the lack of accessible transport, poor employer attitudes, inadequate flexible working and  Access to Work Support and failure to make reasonable adjustments. This is particularly the case in NI and especially in Derry and District.
 
“Government research shows that 80% of people currently in the Limited Capability for Work Related Activity group on UC, or who are in the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Support Group do not feel that the nature and extent of their disability or health condition enables them to undertake employment.
 
“Yet what is proposed is to completely remove the protection of no work conditionality, with instead a system geared to driving disabled claimants into seeking and applying for jobs.

"This conditionality would be enforced by a benefit sanctions regime, which has already been shown by academic researchers not to help people into employment.
 
“People Before Profit is clear that those Disabled people who can work should be supported to do so, backed up by affordable, accessible transport and the provision of reasonable adjustments by employers.

"However those Disabled people who can’t work or can only work limited hours need protection from sanctions. If Stormont ever returns, PBP will do its utmost to ensure that this disgraceful proposal, which is due to be introduced after the next General Election, will not be adopted here.”