DWP’s ‘truly shocking’ disability poverty stats are ‘terrible indictment’
The proportion of families with disabled children who are living in poverty rose by nearly a third in two years, even before the cost-of-living crisis, according to a new poverty measurement being developed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The measurement – which aims to provide a more accurate way of calculating deprivation – shows that nearly half of all individuals in families with at least one disabled child and one disabled adult in the UK were living in poverty by 2021-22, according to a DWP report published quietly last Thursday.
The new measurement, which calculates “individuals in low resources”, found the proportion of people in families with disabled children who were living in poverty increased from 33 per cent in 2019-20 to 43 per cent in 2021-22.
The rise was even higher for those in families with disabled children but no disabled adults, increasing from 25 per cent in poverty in 2019-20 to 38 per cent in 2021-22, a rise of more than half in just two years, according to the new DWP progress report and consultation.
The proportion of people in families with at least one disabled child and one disabled adult who were living in poverty, according to the new measure, rose from 39 per cent in 2019-20 to 46 per cent in 2021-22.
These figures compare with 17 per cent of individuals in families with no disabled members who were living in poverty in both 2019-20 and 2021-22.
This means that people living in families with disabled children were more than twice as likely to be living in poverty than those in families where no-one was disabled in 2021-22, while those in families with both a disabled child and a disabled adult were more than two-and-a-half times more likely to be living in poverty.
As the figures for 2022-23 are not yet available, there is no account taken of the impact of the subsequent cost-of-living crisis.
The individuals in low resources figures – known officially as a “below average resources” (BAR) measure – are being developed by DWP and are based on work by the Social Metrics Commission.
The commission’s own report (PDF), released just days before Christmas, calculated that, under the new measures, there were 14.9 million people living in poverty in the UK in 2021-22, of whom 8.6 million were living in families that included a disabled adult or child, and 6.3 million in families that do not include a disabled adult or child.
It also found that, of the 14.9 million people in poverty, 4.7 million of them were disabled, with 3.2 million disabled working-age adults, 600,000 disabled children and 800,000 disabled pension-age adults.
The aim of producing the new BAR figures is to provide a more accurate measure of poverty than the existing households below average income (HBAI) figures.
One of the reasons the BAR figures are likely to provide a more accurate measure of how many disabled people are living in poverty is that they account for what is known as “inescapable disability-related costs” (IDC), which HBAI ignores.
This means that the new figures take account for the first time of the extra disability-related costs that disabled people face, although DWP is continuing to develop this IDC figure to make it more accurate.
Among other improvements to HBAI, the BAR figures also take account for the first time of overcrowded households and childcare costs.
It means that the more accurate BAR measure “tends to find even higher poverty rates for the most disadvantaged… in comparison to HBAI”, such as families with children and those with a disabled family member.
Ellen Clifford, a member of the national steering group of Disabled People Against Cuts and author of The War on Disabled People, said: “It’s very welcome to finally see poverty measures that take account of disability-related costs and which therefore provide a more accurate picture of the scale of disadvantage faced by disabled people.
“This enables us to prove what we know anecdotally and gives greater weight to our calls for a fundamental overhaul of the social security system.”
She added: “The findings are consistent with projections published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2018, which warned that families with disabled children and where there are both disabled adults and disabled children would be worst hit by tax and welfare reform changes up until 2021-22.”
But she said the figures that now show the scale of that disadvantage were “still shocking”, with the Social Metrics Commission’s report showing that more than 57 per cent of poverty was disability-related in 2021-22.
Clifford said: “This is a terrible indictment of a country as rich as Britain, where, over the same two years that the new measures show very sharp increases in disability poverty, the number of billionaires in the UK rose by 20 per cent.”
Ken Butler, welfare rights and policy adviser for Disability Rights UK, said: “While the DWP attempting to develop a more accurate measure of how many disabled people are living in poverty is welcome, it is decades overdue.
“That its pre-cost-of-living crisis draft measurement shows that 4.7 million disabled people were likely to be living in poverty is truly shocking.
“That level of deprivation must be far worse now.”
He said it was “bitterly ironic” that the government was not using the new figures to push for disabled people’s benefits to be increased to relieve this “extreme poverty”.
Butler said: “Instead, the government intends to abolish the work capability assessment (WCA), that will see around 632,000 disabled people worse off, with those who receive the universal credit support component losing around £4,700 a year.
“What’s needed instead is a benefits ‘essentials guarantee’ that also accurately reflects ‘inescapable disability-related costs’.”
A consultation on DWP’s ongoing BAR work will run until 11 April.
Despite the report being written and published by DWP, a spokesperson for the department refused to comment on whether ministers were concerned at the rise in disability poverty it showed, or to explain what action they would take to address it.
He also refused to say whether ministers accepted that the figures showed that making it even harder to claim disability benefits through its WCA reforms would be reckless and dangerous.
Instead of commenting on the new BAR statistics, he referred in a statement to HBAI figures, and also to overall poverty levels, and made no reference to the number of people in disability-related poverty.
He said: “While there are 1.7 million fewer people living in absolute poverty compared to 2010, we know the challenges disabled people and their families face.
“That is why are investing billions breaking down barriers to work, cutting taxes and curbing inflation to make everyone’s money go further, while our £104 billion support package includes raising disability benefits by 6.7 per cent from April.
“The development of this measure will sit alongside DWP’s existing poverty statistics to give us a better understanding of those who are struggling.
“The households below average income statistics remain the source of official poverty estimates and will be published as usual in March this year.”
25 January 2024
DWP dismisses coroner’s concerns over universal credit suicide
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has completely dismissed a coroner’s call for action to prevent flaws in its benefits systems leading to further deaths, following the suicide of a disabled man who became overwhelmed by the application process.
Kirsty Gomersal sent a prevention of future deaths (PFD) report to work and pensions secretary Mel Stride in November, following an inquest she held into the death of Kevin Gale, from Penrith, Cumbria.
But in its response, DWP has now told the coroner that it disagrees with each of the three key concerns she raised about the way its systems are working, particularly for universal credit claimants.
The inquest had heard how DWP’s actions were having a significant “debilitating” impact on service-users, particularly those trying to claim universal credit.
One witness said that mental health service-users at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust were often “living on pennies” and “can’t afford to feed themselves properly” because their benefit claims had been rejected, while their mental health was “often made worse by the DWP’s inefficiency”.
Another witness from the trust said the “debilitating” impact of DWP’s actions on people with mental distress was a “national issue”.
Gomersal subsequently told Stride in her PFD report: “The evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern.
“In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken.”
She pointed to the “number of and length” of the forms that have to be completed, which “can be overwhelming for someone with a mental health illness”, and which are “perpetuated if the applicant cannot get help to complete the paperwork”, while she also highlighted the “long telephone queues to speak to a DWP advisor”.
She added: “Having to travel long distances for appointments can be detrimental for those with a mental health illness.”
She had been told by a trust psychiatrist that one service-user with a “major mental disorder” had been forced to travel across the Pennines to Darlington to be assessed for their benefits.
DWP did not give evidence at the inquest, because the concerns were not raised until the hearing, so the coroner was unable to make a “causal link” between Gale’s death and his anxiety about his universal credit application.
But in its response to the PFD report, DWP has now dismissed all the coroner’s concerns.
The department said the universal credit IT system only prompts claimants to provide “necessary information”, with its system “far more streamlined” than “traditional paper-based forms”.
It said help was available by phone, in the jobcentre or through home visits, or from other “partner” organisations, including the government-funded Help to Claim support provided by Citizen’s Advice, as well as local public bodies and community organisations.
Gale was unable to apply for universal credit online, but DWP said its “telephone claim script for gathering information is designed so claimants are asked only questions relevant to their circumstances” although it accepted that his self-employed status “would have made it more complicated than for someone with no work at all”.
It added: “Mr Gale expressed confusion over how his payment amounts had been calculated on several occasions.
“On each occasion either his Work Coach, Case Manager or a UC Telephony Agent were supportive in explaining how his benefit had been calculated.”
DWP said it “continually seeks to improve the content” of its written communications.
It also claimed that universal credit enquiry lines “have rarely had any problems with high call waiting times” and most such calls “are answered within minutes”, although “unplanned events such as technical issues or labour market instabilities can increase demand with a knock-on effect on wait times”.
The response appeared to dispute evidence given in the inquest, with DWP claiming that the average time taken to answer a call in the week of Gale’s death was two minutes and 26 seconds.
DWP also told the coroner in its response that most universal credit claimants communicate with work coaches via the online journal, and so “only need visit their Jobcentre for a limited range of reasons such as identity verification interviews”.
And it said Gale had “informed the department that he suffered with mental health problems” but “did not declare any health condition that affected his ability to work and declared that he was self-employed” and so “was not asked to attend a Work Capability Assessment”.
It concluded: “Upon reviewing the full circumstances of this case, we are satisfied that appropriate support is already available to allow claimants with complex needs to access benefits.
“I trust that my response helps assure you of the measures DWP has in place, and on which it is committed to building, to meet your concerns.”
Although the coroner’s PFD report was addressed to the secretary of state, the response was written by a member of the department’s customer experience directorate.
It also did not appear to take into account that the coroner’s concerns were not based solely on Gale’s experience but on the evidence from witnesses from the mental health trust who raised concerns about many other service-users.
In her PFD report, the coroner had told Stride: “During their evidence, the Associate Specialist Psychiatrist expressed concerns about the experience of mental health service users with DWP. These concerns were not just specific to Mr Gale.
“Evidence was also given by the Trust’s Group Nurse Director (a Registered Mental Health Nurse) who considered that the issues identified by the Psychiatrist were national.”
Gale, a self-employed window-cleaner – who was well-liked and supported by family and friends – had repeatedly told mental health professionals from the trust of the anxiety being caused by his universal credit claim, in the weeks before his suicide on 4 March 2022.
Although other factors – such as a recent diabetes diagnosis and other physical health problems – were also heightening his anxiety, the inquest heard that universal credit was his key concern.
He had received a text from DWP the day before he died, asking him to contact the department, which “appeared to have escalated his anxiety”, according to a trust witness.
A mental health duty worker who spoke to Gale on the phone the day before he died said his key concern had been universal credit “and his worry that he was being fraudulent in trying to claim benefits”.
Dr Judith Whiteley, a psychiatrist from the trust, told the inquest that she had waited with Gale “in a very long queue” in an attempt to get through to DWP, but eventually had to abandon the phone call when his appointment ended.
She told the coroner: “The amount of paperwork they subject our patients to, and you can imagine if you’re severely depressed, if you can’t concentrate, if your memory is poor, being asked to complete a 20-page document is essentially impossible.”
She said DWP’s inefficiency “perpetuates their illnesses, their depressions continue, their anxieties continue, and they don’t respond to medication as well as they should, the ability to function from day-to-day”.
*The following organisations are among those that could be able to offer support if you have been affected by the issues raised in this article: Samaritans, Papyrus, Mind, SOS Silence of Suicide and Rethink
25 January 2024
DWP’s 14-year history of dismissing coroners’ concerns over benefit claimant deaths
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has repeatedly dismissed concerns raised by coroners who have investigated the deaths of benefit claimants, in a pattern of behaviour that stretches back 14 years, analysis by Disability News Service (DNS) has revealed.
DNS carried out the analysis after the latest response to a coroner by DWP was published by the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, this time following an inquest into the suicide of self-employed window cleaner Kevin Gale.
The coroner had called on work and pensions secretary Mel Stride to act to prevent flaws in the benefits system leading to further suicides, through a prevention of future deaths (PFD) report (see separate story)
But in its response, published this month, DWP told the coroner it disagreed with each of the three key concerns she raised about the way its systems were working, particularly for universal credit claimants.
PFD reports are written by coroners who believe – at the end of an inquest – that individuals or organisations should take action to prevent similar deaths happening in the future.
DWP has now been sent at least seven PFDs since the start of 2010, and in each report the coroner has called for significant action from the department to prevent further deaths.
But the DNS analysis has shown that only twice has the department promised to take anything more than superficial action in response to those PFDs.
And in four of the cases – including that of Kevin Gale – the department refused to accept that it had made any errors in the lead-up to the death of the claimant.
The first report followed the suicide of Stephen Carré in January 2010, which led to a coroner raising concerns about the work capability assessment (WCA), and DWP’s failure to seek medical evidence from a GP or psychiatrist “if someone applying for out-of-work disability benefits had a mental health condition”.
The coroner had concluded that Carré’s decision to take his own life had been triggered by the rejection of his appeal against being found fit for work through the WCA process.
According to a draft response that apparently lay in DWP files for six years before eventually being sent to the coroner, the department said it remained “unclear to us how further medical evidence would have changed the outcome” and insisted that it had “acted responsibly and appropriately”.
Three years later, the suicide of Michael O’Sullivan led to almost identical concerns about the WCA being raised by another coroner.
This time, although DWP accepted that its policy on further medical policy had “regrettably” not been followed, it promised only to “issue a reminder to staff about the relevant guidance”.
The following year, Faiza Ahmed took her own life, after telling her work coach during a jobcentre meeting that she intended to take her own life.
In DWP’s PFD response, the department dismissed both the coroner’s plea to take action and the findings of an inquest jury which had concluded that the jobcentre’s failings had contributed to her death.
DWP even claimed that its processes “were followed both diligently and correctly”.
The only action it promised to take was to issue a reminder to all DWP staff about its existing guidance on claimants with suicidal ideation.
DNS research would reveal years later that at least six secret DWP reviews between 2014 and 2019 into the deaths of claimants would recommend that its staff should be reminded of this guidance.
In 2019, DWP did take action in response to a PFD report, following the death of Alexander Boamah, who had died on 26 January.
A coroner had told the department to take urgent steps to prevent further deaths after Boamah, who had a history of drug misuse, died two months after receiving a huge back-payment in disability benefits.
A senior DWP civil servant told the coroner in response to his PFD report that the department’s policy to pay benefits “as soon as reasonably practicable… may not be the most appropriate form of action in some circumstances”, and promised that the needs of claimants such as Boamah would be “reflected in updated policy and guidance to ensure necessary safeguards are in place”.
The death of Philippa Day, on 16 October 2019, led to the only time in the last 14 years in which DWP has accepted a coroner’s verdict, expressed remorse for its failings, and carried out extensive changes to policy and practice after a PFD report.
The high-profile inquest had led to coroner Gordon Clow highlighting 28 separate “problems” with the administration of the personal independence payment (PIP) system that helped cause the 27-year-old’s death.
He subsequently issued PFD reports to both DWP and Capita, one of the department’s two PIP assessment contractors.
DWP was forced in its response to announce significant reforms across call handler training, how calls to the PIP helpline were recorded, and how civil servants dealt with assessment appointments.
In a rare expression of regret, a DWP director-general told the coroner that the department was “determined to learn from this deeply tragic case and takes the Coroner’s concerns very seriously”.
But the department’s response to the PFD report into the death of Terence Talbot, who died on 9 April 2020, saw DWP again failing to admit any blame, disputing a coroner’s findings and refusing to change its policies, just as it did this month in response to the Kevin Gale PFD report.
It refused to “make any changes”, despite admitting that Talbot had been told by DWP contractor Serco a couple of months before he died that he had to leave hospital to visit a jobcentre, even though he was severely ill with the condition that later killed him.
Health professionals had told the inquest into his death that they had never heard of such a “severely ill inpatient” being told to leave hospital to make a benefit claim in person.
DWP said in its PFD response that it had not been aware of the “severity of Mr Talbot’s illness” at the time of his universal credit application and had not “held any evidence” to suggest that he had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
It said it did not plan to make any changes to its policies or practices in response to the concerns raised by the coroner.
*The following organisations are among those that could be able to offer support if you have been affected by the issues raised in this article: Samaritans, Papyrus, Mind, SOS Silence of Suicide and Rethink
25 January 2024
Government could be forced into further delays to social care charging reforms, senior civil servant suggests
The government could be forced into further delays to its social care charging reforms, if it decides under-pressure councils will not be able to cope with the “big new chunk” of “complicated work”, evidence from a senior civil servant suggests.
Sir Chris Wormald, permanent secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), was giving evidence yesterday (Wednesday) to the Commons public accounts committee as part of its inquiry on reforming adult social care in England.
In November 2022, chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a delay of another two years to long-awaited government reforms – widely seen as regressive and unfair – that would have introduced a lifetime cap of £86,000 on how much anyone pays for social care in England.
The reforms were based on some of the recommendations made by the 2011 Dilnot commission on care funding.
Hunt said the government was delaying their introduction from October 2023 to October 2025, telling parliament he had listened to the “very real concerns from local authorities, particularly about their ability to deliver the Dilnot reforms immediately”.
Sir Chris told the committee yesterday that the government had been “considering what form the rollout from October 2025 will take and we will be making further announcements on the implementation planning in due course”.
Michelle Dyson, DHSC’s director general for adult social care, said the department had been ready to start the reforms in October 2023, with six “trailblazer” local authorities “who were ready to turn on the system”.
But she said “it wasn’t a delivery challenge, it was a money challenge, so that’s why we delayed it and that’s why we redirected the money from charging reform into the system”.
But Sir Chris suggested just five minutes later that there had also been a delivery challenge.
He said: “One of the reasons for the delay in the first place was the capacity of local authorities to be able to do the work alongside all the other pressures, and that continues to be a concern for us.
“The government has been considering exactly what the form of the rollout is and one of the considerations will be what are local authorities able to do, given all the other pressures on local authorities.”
He added: “We all know the pressures on local government and what they’re having to do, not just in social care but across the piece, and before we give them a big new chunk of…. really quite complicated work we will want to be sure that they are able to do it well.”
The committee was hearing its evidence as Michael Gove, the levelling up, housing and communities secretary, announced £500 million in new ringfenced funding for social care in England.
He said the government had “listened to the sector” and “recognises that pressures on social care, including for children, have increased significantly”.
He suggested that much of the funding should be focused on children’s social care, telling MPs: “Where possible, councils should invest in areas that help place children’s social care services on a sustainable financial footing, whilst being mindful of the level of adult social care provision.”
But his written statement was published while the public accounts committee was taking evidence from Sir Chris, Dyson and a senior civil servant from Gove’s own department.
The committee’s chair, Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier, said: “We are investigating why that has been out late today because it is significant and it is sub-optimal, if I put it politely, that it appears mid-way through a public accounts committee hearing when it is pertinent to the subject we are discussing.”
25 January 2024
Disabled women’s collective searches for more of Frida’s sisters
A disabled women’s collective is looking to recruit fresh blood to help it spread the intersectional feminist values that lie at the heart of its groundbreaking work, in what it says is a “pivotal moment” in its history.
For the first time since it was founded in 2013, Sisters of Frida has secured funding that will allow it to pay members of its steering group.
It is now calling for disabled women, including those who identify as queer, non-binary and trans, and women of colour, to put their names forward as potential steering group members.
It says it needs “new energies, directions, ideas, drive, and most importantly, people”.
It hopes the funding from London-based network Propel, together with an influx of new members, will help it develop leaders in marginalised communities, while keeping intersectional feminist values at the heart of its work.
Since it was founded, it has shaped conversations in the UK and internationally about disabled women within both the feminist and disability rights movements.
Among its work, Sisters of Frida has highlighted the barriers faced by disabled women in a series of reports to the UN, and has supported work around the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
It also researched disabled women’s experiences of independent living during the pandemic; campaigned for changes to the law on violence and domestic violence against disabled women; ran a year-long peer-led skills development course for disabled women; and spoke publicly about the importance of intersectionality.
Eleanor Lisney, a founding member of Sisters of Frida, said she believed the collective’s biggest achievement so far had been to “promote the voices of disabled women and our visibility in issues related to disabled women”.
She said she hoped any recruits would bring “some freshness and passion” into the disabled people’s community through new voices and ideas, and “inspire and support each other to be leaders”.
They are particularly looking for disabled women with skills in fundraising, finance, strategy, organisational development and communications, and with a knowledge of intersectional feminist values and lived experience of disability.
Bethany Young, co-director of Sisters of Frida, said: “Since joining Sisters of Frida, I have worked on lots of wonderful opportunities.
“We are unique because we recognise people don’t exist in clinical, clear-cut tick boxes.
“Real-life diversity is social, human and multi-layered. Together, as Sisters of Frida, we spark better, bolder conversations to create change.”
She said she had become “a better communicator, collaborator and activist” while working with the collective.
She added: “Working with these women shifted how I saw myself. I know my worth. I found my voice by listening to them. I found answers by learning from them.”
25 January 2024
Council stops activist using care funding for first holiday in 20 years
A disabled campaigner is fighting his local council for the right to use some of his social care funding to take his first holiday in more than 20 years.
Nathan Lee Davies, who has a life-limiting condition, has not been away from home for more than a day trip since 2000, and is desperate for a break and a change of scenery.
Because of his health condition, he believes time is running out to take a holiday, and he says he has a right to do so.
Davies believes all disabled people who rely on significant levels of support through their local council should be allowed to use some of that funding to take an annual break.
He cut back on trips to the cinema, restaurants, pubs and other social activities over the last few years so he could build up enough credit in his direct payments account to fund a six-day break in Florida.
After years of activism around disability rights, including writing three books and leading the #SaveWILG campaign, which fought successfully for concessions from the Welsh government after the closure of the Independent Living Fund, he was awarded an honorary fellowship from Glyndwr University.
But he is now 47, and has the life-limiting condition Friedreich’s Ataxia, which has an average life expectancy of between 40 and 50.
Although he loves his home, he does not want to be forced to stay there for 365 days a year, which he says makes him “effectively a prisoner”.
He says he has earned the right to take a short break, and so spent months planning a six-day package holiday to Florida with an accessible travel company.
He said: “I decided that the time to act is now. I am going to be a long time dead, so I have to live in the here and now.
“I had enough money in my direct payments account to make this trip a reality for every year for the rest of my limited life.
“I have managed to save a little over the years to ensure that I can fund my own short break.
“This is how it should be, and I do not want any special treatment.
“What I do need help with is to fund the flights and accommodation for my two personal assistants who I need to travel with me.”
But instead of supporting his plans, he says he has been penalised by Wrexham County Borough Council for being “responsible and prudent” with his direct payments funding.
Although the council will pay for the wages of his two personal assistants (PAs) in Florida, it is refusing to allow him to use his direct payments surplus to cover their flights and accommodation.
His appeal against this decision has already been rejected, an outcome and process that he believes was unfair.
The council has also now clawed back most of his £53,000 surplus.
Davies says he is being denied “a basic human right to enjoy a change of scenery for just six short nights”.
He has started a petition to the Welsh parliament, and has secured the 250 signatures needed for it to be discussed by the Senedd’s petitions committee.
He calls in the petition for local authorities in Wales to focus more on “well-being, voice and control and co-production”, which are core principles of the Welsh government’s Social Services and Well-being Act 2014.
Wrexham council this week refused to clarify the actions it had taken or confirm that Davies would not be allowed to use his direct payments surplus to cover the flights and accommodation of his PAs.
It also refused to confirm that his appeal against this decision has already been rejected.
And it refused to confirm that it had clawed back most of the £53,000 surplus, and that it realised that he would therefore not be able to take his holiday.
But a council spokesperson said in a statement: “As a social care department we have worked with Mr Davies to support him to meet his needs and explore the outcomes that he is seeking to achieve on an ongoing basis.
“His direct payments are designed to support him to meet those needs.
“Should they not be fully used by Mr Davies, or anyone else for that matter, monies are returned to the council in accordance with department policy.
“With regards to Mr Davies’ holiday, we have agreed to provide the funding to meet his care and support needs during that holiday as well as providing clear options as to how that care could be put in place during his holiday.”
25 January 2024
Claimants who chose to take part in DWP’s work programme were more likely to find jobs, research suggests
Disabled people who have taken part voluntarily in a government employment support programme have been more likely to find jobs than claimants who were forced into the scheme, research has found.
An updated research report on the programme, carried out on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and first published last October, analyses the success of the Work and Health Programme (WHP), which was launched in England and Wales between November 2017 and April 2018.
The programme has been delivered by various private sector and charity service-providers, and taking part was voluntary for those referred to the “disability group”.
But taking part in the WHP was compulsory for claimants of jobseeker’s allowance and universal credit who had been unemployed for two years – before the government introduced its Restart programme in 2020 – although many in this group would also have been disabled people.
Researchers compared the results under the private and voluntary sector WHP providers with the kind of support being offered by DWP through Jobcentre Plus.
They found that those who took part in the WHP voluntarily were significantly more likely than those who received the typical jobcentre job support voluntarily to have done some paid work since starting the programme (27 per cent compared to 22 per cent).
But those who took part voluntarily were also working longer hours than those who were forced to take part, and they were more likely to be employed full-time.
More than a quarter (26 per cent) of those who took part in the WHP voluntarily had started some paid work since being referred, compared with just 17 per cent of those who were forced to take part, while the proportion in work at the time of the survey in 2021 was also higher (17 per cent compared with 11 per cent).
More than 80 per cent of those who received WHP support said they were either fairly or very satisfied with that support.
One said: “They seem to want to get people back into work, while the [other programme] workers could not have cared less.”
By May last year, 410,000 people had been referred to the programme, with 316,000 of them in the disability group.
Referrals are due to end in September, with most new referrals now likely to be disabled people.
Under the programme, each participant is allocated a key worker who meets them regularly and provides support for up to 15 months, as well as referring them to specialist support if needed.
Support includes financial, housing, health and childcare advice, as well as in-work support for many of those who secure jobs.
The report concluded: “Voluntary participation was highlighted as a critical aspect of the WHP and created a basis for genuine conversation with key workers about readiness for work, the barriers participants faced and their individual needs, for those in the voluntary groups.
“The extended time available for key workers to build rapport with participants was also mentioned as a significant development.
“In contrast, the JCP Work Coaches interviewed, acknowledged that time constraints meant they were not able to focus on individuals as much as they might have wanted to.”
It added: “The overall findings indicated a range of positive outcomes for all WHP participants.
“However, the impact analysis showed that outcomes were generally more positive for voluntary participants than mandatory participants.”
The ongoing research has been carried out by Kantar Public on behalf of DWP since 2018.
25 January 2024
Other disability-related stories covered by mainstream media this week
Four care workers who were convicted of abusing patients at a secure hospital have been given suspended sentences. An undercover BBC Panorama investigation showed disabled people being mocked by staff at Whorlton Hall, a specialist private hospital, in County Durham, between 2018 and 2019. The four former staff, who are all men, were sentenced on Friday after being convicted by a jury last year. Judge Chris Smith said Whorlton Hall was an “unpredictable and inherently frightening place to live”: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-68021858
A woman is hitting out at a London home care company for “neglect” after finding her father looking “like he had been caged for years”. Cindy Peirce says after years of lost contact with her father, she found him “very thin” and struggling to walk due to “ulcers and sores on his feet”. Ms Peirce believes Mayfair Homecare, which has provided care on behalf of Merton Council, is to blame. Mayfair says it delivered the care package set out by the council: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-67994420
More than a hundred suicide and self-harm incidents have been recorded at jobcentres and other benefits providers since 2014, it can be revealed. The worrying figures, uncovered through freedom of information requests, will reinforce fears over the effect of the government’s punitive welfare policies, such as disability tests and sanctions: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/shock-figures-expose-number-suicides-31950102
25 January 2024
News provided by John Pring at www.disabilitynewsservice.com
