People on benefits ‘scared of making a mistake’
Campaigners have criticised Liz Kendall’s comments, explaining some disability benefit recipients feel “scared of making a mistake” due to fears the government is “not on their side”.
“Language and headlines like this fuel fear, stigma and suspicion, making it even harder for people to access the support they need,” Shelley Hopkinson, head of policy and influencing at poverty charity Turn2Us, told the Big Issue.
“People tell us they’re scared of making a mistake, that they feel lost and helpless, and sometimes that they’ve given up on making a claim.”
Hopkinson explained that the government’s focus should be on those who rely on the support of benefits, “not the few who exploit it”.
Helen Barnard, director of policy at food bank organisation Trussell, added that many disabled people “already fear engaging with a government department which is widely perceived to not be on their side, partly due to the stigmatising language often used by politicians and the media when talking about them”, adding that “increasing this fear risks causing real damage”.
“There are currently five million people in disabled families living in hunger and hardship, and 75% of people referred to a Trussell food bank come from one of these households,” Barnard added.
“It is vital the government focuses on genuinely increasing support and avoids measures which cut the incomes of people already living in precarious circumstances or force them into harsh conditionality and sanctions.”
She added that disabled people who cannot work should be “spoken about and treated with dignity and respect, and they must be protected from hunger and hardship by being given adequate support to afford the essentials.”
Evan John, policy advisor at disability charity Sense, added that Kendall’s comments were “sadly the latest negative rhetoric about benefits that disabled people have had to endure in recent years”.
John added that similar comments had a “real and damaging impact on disabled people”, with over half of people with complex disabilities telling the charity that “senior politicians’ comments about disability benefits make them feel less safe as a disabled person”.
Liz Kendall’s comments come as the Labour government has indicated it will stick with Tory plans to cut disability benefits in a bid to slash billions from the welfare bill. In addition, it has launched a “crackdown” on benefit fraud, which could see benefit claimants accused of fraud stripped of their driving licence.
Under the previous government, the DWP had pledged to reform the work capability assessment, which would have meant new claimants could miss out on financial support worth up to £400 a month by 2029.
According to campaigners, however, Labour’s plans “bear no relation to reality”, with the latest DWP figures finding “personal independence payment fraud to be 0.4%”.
Describing Liz Kendall’s comments as an “unforgivable slur” to disabled people, Ken Butler, membership organisations welfare rights and policy adviser at Disability Rights UK explained that her remark is “a clumsy attempt to justify her plans slashing £3bn of health from the health and disability benefits budget.”
“She has done nothing but increase the stress, fears and desperation of disabled people over their future under her government,” Butler added. “Disabled people’s benefits are not high enough at present and need increasing not cutting.”
Ayla Ozmen, director of policy and campaigns at anti-poverty charity Z2K, told the Big Issue: “It’s incredibly concerning to see reports that the government is planning to remove vital financial support from hundreds of thousands of disabled people.
“Restricting eligibility for disability benefits at a time when the basic rate of benefits is below subsistence levels would only plunge disabled people deeper into poverty. Prioritising short-term savings over meaningful reform would push disabled people further from work, undermining the government’s aim of boosting the employment rate.”
Ozmen added: “If we truly want a social security system that actually helps people into work, we need investment, not cuts. The government must not proceed with the reported plans.”
Tom Pollard, head of social policy at New Economics Foundation, added that “slashing financial support for ill and disabled people, while placing them under stricter rules, will not achieve this government’s long-term goal of more people in good jobs”.
“At the end of last year, this government announced plans to try to genuinely engage with and support people who are out-of-work,” Pollard said.
“Pressure on ministers to achieve short-term benefit savings is undermining this welcome new agenda.
“If this government wants to reduce the benefits bill and help more people into work, there is only one way: build trusting relationships with people so they can overcome the barriers they face when getting a new job, and guaranteeing a basic level of financial support to help them make the transition.”
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