NEW: "There is no set of measures the DWP can cook up that will achieve the savings the Treasury is demanding, on the timescale it is demanding them, without blanket-bombing disabled people." My deep dive on what the DWP isn't trumpeting about its latest research: www.bigissue.com/news/employm... - ThreadSky

cjayanetti.bsky.social • 6 hours ago

NEW: "There is no set of measures the DWP can cook up that will achieve the savings the Treasury is demanding, on the timescale it is demanding them, without blanket-bombing disabled people."

My deep dive on what the DWP isn't trumpeting about its latest research:
https://www.bigissue.com/news/employment/dwp-disability-benefit-claimants-work-truth/

Comments

rathfelder.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Harrassing disabled people will not get them into work.

liberalsimon.bsky.social•5 hours ago

I’ve yet to see anything to convince me Labour want to get more disabled people in to work. It seems to all be about getting them only the lowest level of benefits to have money.

charlierad.bsky.social•6 hours ago

📌

chrisblinker.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Disabled people got no help during COVID and yet they will pay the price while mone and other PPE scammers eat fine and drink champagne.

billn.bsky.social•4 hours ago

Good article that highlight some of the major issues.
"Supporting" people with disabilities has been a recurring policy object of govs for 40yrs, always accompanied by cutting or restricting access to benefits. What has never been on the agenda is forceful reasonable adjustment laws for employers.

billn.bsky.social•4 hours ago

Nor have funds been made available for the kind of intensive support some people would need. I have been involved in successfully supporting people with cognitive disabilities into work, but it depended on the willingness of the employer to make the reasonable adjustments.

billn.bsky.social•4 hours ago

It also depended on intensive, gradually withdrawn, on the job support for a considerable time. Technically we could have been said to be misusing funds, the money was for day care for people assessed as in need of continuous support. In the long run it saved money as people ceased to need day care.

billn.bsky.social•4 hours ago

Also saved money as they ceased getting incapacity for work benefits.
Might add that I am talking about my experience from over 20yrs ago.

gaspurves.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Liz Kendall is looking more like a Bond villainess every time I see her. 'Loving that stare and posture.🤔

clarec.bsky.social•6 hours ago

I work with people on PIP who do try to work but find that employers won’t make reasonable adjustments to ensure they can stay in work. Sometimes adjustments are tricky for employers (but still reasonable). But often it’s straightforward things that don’t get done like provision of specific chairs.

clarec.bsky.social•6 hours ago

It’s very difficult for employees in this situation. The remedy is a claim in the Employment Tribunal which is likely to take a long time. By the time, that’s completed or settled (usually following months of grievances beforehand), the employee is likely to be v stressed & will struggle to work.

clarec.bsky.social•6 hours ago

There are people with disabilities who are very keen to work but (more often than not) find that the world of work can’t/wont accommodate them. Making changes to incapacity benefits without supporting these employees to have suitable adjustments in place is going to backfire spectacularly.

katrinahendo.bsky.social•5 hours ago

My husband has great employers who have put in great adjustments so he can continue to work, but he has just been turned down for the renewal of his blue badge, he is in a ulez zone so it’s a half mile walk to work before and after a 12hr shift or we buy a new car£££

clarec.bsky.social•5 hours ago

It’s so incredibly frustrating to read this. Can you appeal the decision? I have noted an increase in number of adults saying they have been turned down when they try to renew their blue badges recently.

katrinahendo.bsky.social•5 hours ago

He sent an email today appealing but we think his letter got lost in the mail telling him the decision so we may be out of time

cjayanetti.bsky.social•5 hours ago

ffs

cjayanetti.bsky.social•5 hours ago

who turned down his renewal application - the council or TfL?

angels4peace.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Great article. The Govt are appalling and seem yo want to mirror Tory Policy.
Contracts need to be reviewed for assessments providers, and the new Scottish system should be analysed.
Many d/Disabled people contributed to the Frank Field Commission.
Why don't they just read all the submissions??

cjayanetti.bsky.social•6 hours ago

The DWP excitedly declared: “New survey suggests 200k people claiming disability benefits are ready for work now if the right job or support were available”

But that figure is based on just 5% of survey respondents giving that answer – “few customers”, to use the wording of the report itself

leftback.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Right, so this is an announcement of extra funding to get 200K into suitable work, right? Not shutting off benefits and expecting 200K people will just walk into a job they are capable of doing? Right? Ohshit.

cjayanetti.bsky.social•6 hours ago

Meanwhile, almost half of all disability benefit claimants in the survey felt they would *never* be able to work again - including more than a third of claimants who are required to undertake work-related activity as part of their benefits

cjayanetti.bsky.social•6 hours ago

The last government tried to justify disability benefit cuts on the basis that some disabled people can work from home

And the Labour DWP will make hay from the finding that a quarter of those who could not work right now then said they could do a job that entirely involved working from home

cjayanetti.bsky.social•6 hours ago

But there are important caveats with this figure. The survey asked about jobs that were *entirely* remote - not hybrid working

How many of these jobs are there? Adzuna currently lists around 27k job adverts across the UK that are marked as WFH – including hybrid jobs – out of 865k job ads in total

cjayanetti.bsky.social•6 hours ago

There are signs that many employers are going cold on fully-remote working. And then there are the issues raised by disabled people in interviews with the researchers:

cjayanetti.bsky.social•5 hours ago

The report found that 41% of disabled people are waiting for NHS treatment - and of those who say they could return to work in future, half said their ability to work depends on receiving treatment

And then there is the disabling impact of the labour market itself:

riverlorien.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Thank you for covering this. Many people who are simply too ill or disabled to work fear being pushed into unending, deep poverty. Disability adds significant costs. Bedroom tax is punitive. Being cold, poorly nourished and more isolated - while coping with poor health - could make life unbearable

cjayanetti.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Yeah - I mean there is no way in which the findings of that report as a whole support cutting £3.5bn from disability benefits (or cutting spending on Access To Work...)

riverlorien.bsky.social•5 hours ago

Yes - and that leaves the large group who just can't work facing a life of severe struggle. What do they think happens to them? If people's health deteriorates further, they will need more health and social care. Scope calculated that disabled households need, on average, an extra £1,010 a month

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