Among families struggling to make ends meet, there’s an uneasy sense that the people who can least afford it are being forced to bear the brunt of the nation’s financial woes.
As the impact statement of the government’s welfare cuts was released – revealing tens of thousands of children will be tipped into poverty – at a community centre in Wolverhampton, families shared their frustration that sick and disabled people will be those who lose out.
“It’s for people that need extra help because they’re ill, so why would they target that? I’m confused,” said Melissa.
A former carer, she’s currently pregnant, and says she’d love to go back to work and hasn’t been able to since her older children were born – due to the cost of childcare.
Melissa believes the government’s aim of encouraging more people into work is “a good thing, it’s what they need”. But she questions where the jobs are for people who’ve been out of work and may struggle due to illness.
“It’s okay saying they’re making cuts, but how are they going to help get people back in work by making them cuts?” she asks.
Philippa agrees. “It’s always a certain section of the community that gets targeted and it’s always those are on low incomes,” she says.
Now a grandmother, but still a few years away from retirement, Philippa recently applied for the disability benefit PIP – personal independence payment – due to diabetes and related health problems.
She was rejected but intends to appeal – and says she feels targeted by the government’s cuts.
“My son’s got disability living allowance, which means I can become his carer and that’s the opt out of getting a job”, she says, adding “I’ve never had to look into ways of avoidance”.
The cuts to welfare target the rapidly growing cost to the public purse of sickness and disability benefits.
The bill currently stands at £65bn a year and has ballooned since the pandemic, fuelled by a large increase in claims from young people with mental illness.
The measures are designed to remove some of the disincentives to work within the system.
Currently, people signed off sick can get double the amount job seekers receive in benefits.
However, they risk losing the extra money if they do get a job.
Stephanie Leo is a senior community support worker in Wolverhampton and believes some people are put off looking for work because they worry about losing their benefits.
“If you could still work on certain benefits that would be more impressive,” she says.
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Winston Lindsay, 57, struggles to walk due to a range of conditions, including spondylosis that affects his spine.
He used to be a social worker but now runs a voluntary organisation in Wolverhampton supporting people with disabilities.
He uses his PIP payments to cover the basics, but says he already struggles to get by, and worries that if his benefits are reduced, it will have a “major impact” that will force him to restrict how much food he buys, and how often he puts the heating on at home.
“We’re going have to wrap up and wear more clothes”, he says. “I’m just glad it’s summer at the moment – with the winter that’s going to be the worst period.”
The government’s aim is that more people currently in receipt of benefits go out and seek work.
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Ben Harrison, director of the Work Foundation, told Sky News that it may happen.
“These measures will mean that they will face an increasing need to engage with employment support services.
“The problem here is whether they’ll be able to be connected to the appropriate kinds of work”, he says.
He believes the risk is that people “get pushed into inappropriate kinds of employment”.
“That in the end, makes their condition worse, and it makes their long-term employment prospects worse as well”, he adds.
