Damian Green claims that the findings of the UN are out of date and things have moved on since then
- Closure of ILF and loss of care funding is even more widespread. See One Year On – Evaluating the Impact of the Closure of the Independent Living Fund. and The Abuse Disabled People Face from Social Services & Funding Cuts Since ILF Closure
- The new lower Benefits CAP affects many disabled people. Disabled people are only exempt if on highest rates of PIP or DLA.
- £30 a week cut to ESA from April next year for those in the WRAG.
- Universal Credit is being rolled out with it’s punitive in work conditionality affecting many more disabled people
#UK: Evidence of “grave or systematic violations of rights of people w/ disabilities” – UN Committee report https://t.co/S2MPIUYqLt @lizmt
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) November 7, 2016
Damian Green claims that the government spends £50 billion a year on disabled people, so everything must be OK
So actual spend on all working age benefits for disabled people is £28,155 billion
- The spending on DLA/PIP is only half what it was in 1995-96
Spending across Great Britain on disability benefits in 2014–15 totalled £13.5 billion. At 0.8% of national income this is half the level of disability benefit spending when it was at its peak in 1995–96.
The overall number of individuals receiving disability benefits has fallen slightly since the mid-1990s. But this is in the presence of underlying demographic change that would have tended to push up the numbers receiving considerably – both overall population growth and the baby boomer generation reaching older working ages.
Damian Green claims that the report doesn’t take into account other things that the government is doing for disabled people
The DPAC response is that this is just desperate bullshitting and another attempt at smoke and mirrors from Mr Green
Further Reading:
- The UN Report into UK Government maltreatment of disabled people has been published
- So DPAC triggered the UNCRPD inquiry but what does it really mean?
- Arbeit Macht Frei and more Damien Green smoke and mirrors
- One Year On – Evaluating the Impact of the Closure of the Independent Living Fund. #Right2IL
- The Abuse Disabled People Face from Social Services & Funding Cuts Since ILF Closure #Right2IL
And some more facts and stats:
Britain’s benefits are among the least generous in western Europe
Britain’s benefits are among the least generous in western Europe – despite David Cameron saying they’re a “lifestyle choice”, a report has claimed.
The UK has the stingiest unemployment payouts and is third-lowest for working benefits overall, behind only Switzerland and Ireland, in the analysis of 14 of the richest or largest European nations.
Denmark and France were the runaway winners in the study of OECD data by a recruitment website.
It found Britain’s £73.10-a-week jobseeker’s allowance was left in the shade by Denmark, which offers the unemployed 90% of previous earnings for up to two years.
Even in Ireland, which had the worst paternity pay, new jobseekers are paid around £146 a week.
Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/britains-benefits-among-least-generous-7390983
Disabled People in Poverty
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The recent report by NPI commissioned by Joseph Rowntree showed that excluding support for the extra costs of disability,’ thirty-one per cent of people in a family with a disabled person are in poverty after housing costs, compared with 18% of people in a family with no disabled people.
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The poverty rate for disabled people varies according to circumstance. Disabled young adults (16- to 24-year-olds) have a particularly high poverty rate of 44%.
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Meanwhile, two-thirds (66%) of single disabled people living alone are in poverty. As noted above, disabled renters also have high poverty rates: over 60% in the social sector and 56% in the private sector.
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A quarter of working-age disabled people are in ‘deep’ poverty (that is, they have an income below 50% of the median income), compared with 13% of non-disabled working age people’
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Disability increases poverty and increases the depth of poverty for those already experiencing it.
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In 2013/14 saw a 3% increase while for non disabled groups there was a 1% percentage drop
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2.8 million disabled people are in deep poverty that is they have 50% below the median income
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63% of disabled people are unable to face unexpected financial costs compared to 38% of non disabled people , with over half as many disabled people unable to eat properly compared with non disabled people ( 18% and 8%)
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JSA sanction regime has had the biggest impact on disabled people and those with health issues . In 2015 approximately 81,000 sanctions were applied to disabled people 80% to those on JSA and 16,000 to those in the ESA Work related group
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Universal credit removes severe disability premium, removes the disability element of working tax credits and reduces the disabled child addition to half its current size meaning 90% of disabled people will be worse off. This is in addition to the £30 per week cut from April 2017 to those in the work related activity group of ESA.
Source: https://npi.org.uk/files/3414/7087/2429/Disability_and_poverty_MAIN_REPORT_FINAL.pdf
28% of disabled people can’t live on their benefits
A survey of more than 500 disabled people found that 28% couldn’t afford to eat and 38% have been unable to heat their home.
Just over half said they struggled to stay healthy.
Austerity has been targeted at disabled people
“Austerity has been targeted at disabled people 9 times more than the general population and severely disabled people have been targeted 19 more than the general population”
Source: page 7 of https://www.centreforwelfarereform.org/uploads/attachment/354/a-fair-society.pdf
Disability hate crime is on the rise
Hate crime, England and Wales, 2014 to 2015
In 2014/15, there were 52,528 hate crimes recorded by the police of which 2,508 (5%) were disability hate crimes;
The most commonly reported motivating factor in these hate crime incidents was race……. The second most common motivating factor was disability
(70,000 incidents per year).
Disability hate crime has increased each year since 2011
2011/12: 1,748 Incident
2012/13: 1,911
2013.14: 2,006
2014/15: 2,508
25% increase between 2013/14 and 2014/15
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2014-to-2015
Twitterstorm! What a great thing! After reading the way so many physically and mentally unwell people are being accosted, it made a lovely start to the day to come across DPAC’s upcoming event this morning. Bring it on!
It is clear from Damien Green’s response to the UN Inquiry that we are dealing with not simply a deliberately cynically callous Government, but a gangster Government. There is no shame, no apology, no plans to address the serious infringements, not even a listening ear let alone any human concern about horrifying results of their “Welfare Reforms” What more evidence do we need?
We have been likening the policies and rhetoric of this disgusting Government to that of the Nazi Party of the 1930s. Now we know that the Government’s attitude to criticism is akin to the arrogance of the Nazi Party too. They are the embodiment of evil- a word i don’t like to use. Shame on them all. Shame on all their supporters.
With the UN Inquiry now in print, would this be a time to club together to take them to the European Court?
Damien green is a liar and a hypocrite. However he is mostly a liar. He knows well what he and his party are doing and no amount of denials will change that fact.
The tories are an intensely evil and offensive party. They have tortured and still torturing the sick and poor resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths. No doubt planned well in advance.
They know the truth, we know the truth, the United Nations know the truth.
Time to get rid of these scoundrels , thieves and killers
This vile incompetent Government should all hang their heads down in shame!! Ken Loach’s film I,Daniel Blake was spot on about the way these lot treat the poor, sick and disabled people???
When Damien Green tells the country that they are proud of the support they are offering to disabled people, he is only referring to those who still qualify (and even they are scared stiff that they will be next). But this government has ruled that numerous numbers dont qualify for the benefits anymore so they dont come into the argument at all! Shame on him!