Disabled People have been under constant threat by the Tory government

“Many of us in the disabled community know of someone who has had to suffer through the cold due to energy costs, who skip meals because they can’t get enough food to eat. Some of us even know people who have taken their own lives.”

By Kathy Bole, Disability Labour

Rishi Sunak has recently announced that the government would be pressing ahead with a series of actions which will be targeting the disabled. The 12-week consultation on changes to welfare benefits which would make them fit for the future is set to end on the 23^rd of July. The reason for this initiative is to reign in caseloads and costs.

Despite asking the views of disabled people and their organisations and charities, there are no numbers to outline what the savings target would be. Sunak’s claim there is a culture of exploitation in the PIP assessments by disabled people is just blatantly untrue. Indeed, Sunak and the work and pensions minister Mel Stride have not produced any numbers around how much they propose to cut from the PIP budget. They also would not produce any evidence provided by the DWP of disabled people exploiting the system.

Sunak’s statements have sent a chill amongst disabled people once again. The DWP assessments are already known to strike fear in anyone claiming the benefit. There are those disabled people who will not claim due to the horror stories that run through the community. 

For those who are unable to work due to chronic long term physical and mental ill health conditions, Personal Independence Payments are a lifeline. These disabled people are not treated as the vulnerable people they are. Many only apply for PIP when they can no longer support themselves and are being driven into poverty. The level of fraud with regard to disability benefits is extremely low. Despite Sunak claiming that social security is a “lifestyle choice”.

Instead of concentrating on the reasons why people need the help and helping them make choices about what they need, the government insists on punishment. Many of us in the disabled community know of someone who has had to suffer through the cold due to energy costs, who skip meals because they can’t get enough food to eat. Some of us even know people who have taken their own lives.

Not only is central government punishing the disabled again, but local government also can’t keep up with the costs of social care. The result is that local authorities are now charging disabled people for their care. Many people have dropped their claims for care because they can no longer afford it.

It is not disabled people breaking the system, it is the punitive nature of the benefit system which is broken. The United Nations has time and time again identified that the UK government is brutalising disabled people. And that the government flagrantly ignores the recommendations of the committee on the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

In a letter sent to Downing Street by a group of Disabled People’s Organisations and charities, they accused Sunak of disseminating misinformation and said according to the Disability News Service of “scaring people into good health”. The UN committee stressed that the UK government has been violating the rights of disabled people for more than 7 years from its scathing report at the end of 2016.

Rishi Sunak’s attack on disabled people is a lazy method to fund tax cuts and contracts to rich donors. How long will disabled people die at the hands of their own government?

---

• Kathy Bole is the Chair of Disability Labour.
• You can follow her on Twitter here; and follow Disability Labour on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X.
• If you support Labour Outlook’s work amplifying the voices of left movements and struggles here and internationally, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon.