Helping young people reach their goals.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Disabled people reach ‘tipping point’
Monday 29 October 2012
Disabled people take action as a new report says the government is failing to protect them from welfare cuts
Protest marches, question time events and a light vigil were among events held by disability campaigners to recognise the effects of the government's welfare reforms on disabled people.
They formed part of the Hardest Hit Week of Action (22-28 October), which brought together disabled people, their carers, friends and families, from across the UK. It was organised by the Hardest Hit campaign group – a coalition of over 90 disabled people’s organisations, including Mencap. Campaigners joined the TUC Future That Works march and rally on Saturday 20 October in London (pictured left). There was also a march and lobby in Newcastle, a light vigil in Sunderland, a discussion event at Essex County Council and an MP question time event in Birmingham.
The Birmingham event (pictured below) was well-attended and saw disabled people, their families and carers from across the West Midlands put their cut-related questions to a panel including Jack Dromey, MP for Birmingham Erdington; councillor Ian Ward, deputy of Birmingham City Council, and Martin Gallagher, chair of Midland Mencap.
Higher living costs
The local events follow the publication of a new Hardest Hit report on Monday 22 October, which exposes how the government’s cuts are hitting disabled people hardest. According to ‘The Tipping Point’, nearly 9 in 10 disabled people’s everyday living costs are significantly higher because of their condition. Furthermore, 85% claim losing their Disability Living Allowance (DLA) would drive them into isolation, while 95% fear that losing DLA would be detrimental to their health.
The report brings together a survey of over 4,500 disabled people, a poll of more than 350 independent welfare advisers and more than 50 in-depth interviews with disabled people.
More than three quarters of disabled people said their health got worse as a result of stress caused by their work capability assessment (WCA) for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). Two thirds felt that ESA assessors did not understand their condition. And nearly 9 in 10 welfare advisors said the constant re-assessments for benefits are damaging people’s health.
The report highlights that disabled people are twice as likely to live in poverty, and even a small loss of income can tip people into greater dependence on health and social care services or friends and family. Further cuts to the welfare budget, the replacement of DLA with the Personal Independence Payment and the new Universal Credit system threaten to make things worse.The Hardest Hit coalition is calling on the government to learn from the mistakes it made with WCA and ensure the assessment for PIP is as fair and as clear as possible, and to get Universal Credit right.
“The chancellor has just announced a further £10 billion cut to the welfare budget,” says Jaspal Dhani, chief executive of the UK Disabled People’s Council (UKDPC) and co-chair of the Hardest Hit campaign. “With £9 billion having already been removed from disability benefits and services in this parliament, disabled people are already at a tipping point. The government has some urgent choices to make, but must rule out targeting disabled people for further spending cuts in the next Budget and comprehensive spending review.”
Pressing government
On Monday 29 October, representatives from the Hardest Hit coalition presented the key findings from the 'Tipping Point' report to a joint meeting of the all party parliamentary groups on disability, learning disability, autism, MS, Parkinson's, mental health, motor neurone disease, eye care and visual impairment. It was attended by over 50 stakeholders and MPs and peers from across all parties. It was chaired by Conservative MP Robert Buckland.
Mencap spokesperson Richard Lawrence gave a powerful account of going through the work capability assessment and how he got a job at Mencap. The new disabilities minister, Esther McVey, described how the government will listen to disabled people and organisations like Mencap in order to make sure that PIP is humane and works to support disabled people.
In Northern Ireland, on 31 October, Mencap and Disability Action gave evidence to the Assembly’s Committee for Social Development on the effect that the Welfare Reform Bill will have on people with a disability. “The Institute of Fiscal Studies estimates that people in Northern Ireland will lose more income than any other UK region outside of London when the changes to the welfare system come in to effect next year,” said Jenny Ruddy, Mencap in Northern Ireland’s campaign’s officer. “The Department of Social Development’s own figures estimate that households with a disabled person will lose £39 in benefits a week, compared to £24 a week in households without a disabled person.
“It is important that the effects of the proposed changes on people with a learning disability, their family or carers are minimised and that active steps are taken to protect vulnerable people.”
Comments
A well renound person recently told me that" the figures for children entering full time care were supprrisingly increasing in recent years ". Supprising ? not to me, if you keep taking much needed help from families and disabled persons who need it, what do you expect to happen ? Costs will spiral as full time care is alot more expensive than supporting a child in there own environment, not to mention the mental termoil created by this choice. The whole point of supporting independance was to save money (sorry a bit cold, but true) the government are slowly now going to end up with a bigger problem than they realise if they continue down this path. Good quality support for the disabled person and carer, is vital to minamise costs. This continued assult on disabled people and there carers stokes the fires leading to social exclusion.
I fear that the governments cuts on welfare benefits will make further difficulties to disabled people, children and adults because their relatives will insist that they are unable to financially afford their care due to the economical climate being shaped for them.. Unemployment for the masses and
stress to take along with discrimination by association, from all sides of society has helped to create a situation that they know can become intolerable. Its not to say they are not very loved,
by family but at these would be carers that are relatives reach pensionable age which they can observe upon existing
carers right now there is no help given in terms of financial assistance to the elderly carers
whom once reaching pensionable age do not receive a carers allowance and may well have been unable to continue working once their adult children reach leaving school/college or prior to this
unable to secure care in school holidays for an older child with disabilities and continue to work
making it very impossible to accrue financial security for themselves and those they would care for. The DE-institionalisation of long stay hospitals was the correct thing to do and the families whom
take the responsibility of care for disabled children is the right thing all parents want but the employment was available although the difficulties for their children's care was same then as today but the stark reality today is that government has created a much more hostile environment
towards families with disabilities by a culture of all will work giving no respect to the great
difficulties for those in the disabled world or that of those whom very much want but will be unable to care for them in the future because of government policies creating a culture in our society of uncaring thinking - although there are many whom do care because they have experience or by nature a loving individual, the government policy makers are not made of
this and the government are too weak to resist their advisors whom pretend to consult the public.
As a carer who has exhausted the system trying to get some help. I strongly believe that Mr Cameron has not got a clue on the realities of life. I can't remember the last time I had a day to myself. My daughter is capable of more but the system has made her what she is today. The support system is appalling and it is time we had more disabled in Parliament who understand what disabled means and to produce a fair system for all.There is nowhere to turn to. Education lets young people down and leaves them with little hope for work. In turn there is little support for a person with a learning disability to get into employment. Many like my daughter will end up prisoners in their own home. Lack of friends and peoples attitudes also needs to change. It has to happen this year. I hate seeing my daughter cry and hate seeing my health deteriorate and my spirits so low.
Sadly there are few in Politics who care.
It is time ordinary people stood by us as anyone can become a carer anytime in their lives and anyone can become sick or disabled.
To the previous commenter: " The resulting health consequences of vulnerable people not being able to look after thenselves properly could bankrupt the NHS and move them further away from gaining employment. The precise oppposite of what the coalition wants."
Do you really believe the coalition care about, much less expect us to get 'employment'? Vulnerable people not being able to look after themselves will not cost the NHS much, because they will die reasonably quickly - the current estimate is about 32 a week, but I'm sure that's a great underestimate, because the most vulnerable are the most isolated, who will take longest to get into the statistics.
Precisely what the coalition wants is that we die, so they can give the money that would have sustained us to their bankster pals to gamble with, and buy yachts and things. This is a coldly calculated genocide.
I fear more lives will be lost and the kind of reform needed in the care system will simply not be done. The resulting health consequences of vulnerable people not being able to look after thenselves properly could bankrupt the NHS and move them further away from gaining employment. The precise oppposite of what the coalition wants.