Ministers ignore ESA claimants in suicide prevention strategy… again
Ministers have refused to include claimants of out-of-work disability benefits as a high-risk group in their latest suicide prevention strategy, despite “irrefutable evidence” from NHS research.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has listed “common risk factors” such as physical illness, financial difficulty and social isolation in its new Suicide Prevention Strategy for England.
But it fails to include claimants of universal credit and employment and support allowance (ESA) who have been found to have limited capability for work (LCW) or work-related activity (LCWRA).
Ministers have failed to include this group despite NHS Digital’s Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey showing in 2016 that more than 43 per cent of ESA claimants had said they had attempted suicide at some point in their lives, compared with about seven per cent of non-ESA claimants.
Five years ago, the department refused to explain why ESA claimants had not been included as a high-risk group in a cross-government suicide prevention plan, and why DHSC was refusing to warn agencies and departments that ESA claimants were at high risk of suicide.
Now it has failed again to explain its refusal to include LCW or LCWRA as a risk factor for suicide, even though the strategy insists that practice and policy on suicide prevention “should be informed by high-quality data and research”.
Dr Jay Watts, a disabled activist and consultant clinical psychologist, praised the progress made by the new strategy in acknowledging groups such as autistic people and those “subjected to intimate partner violence” as priority groups for the first time.
But she said the strategy also appeared “strategically crafted to insulate the government from the harsh consequences of its own policies”.
She said: “The strategy recognises financial difficulty as a risk factor yet fails to make the direct link to welfare reforms that have significantly impacted claimants since austerity measures began – reforms that are well-documented for increasing suicide risk.”
She added: “Five years ago, we urgently flagged the need for ESA claimants to be recognized as a high-risk group in our national suicide prevention approach.
“This was based on a crucial finding that corroborated what activists had been telling and showing us for years and was rooted in irrefutable evidence from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS).
“Given the APMS’s stature among researchers, it’s startling that the new Suicide Prevention Strategy itself overtly highlights the survey as a crucial future data source, but simultaneously overlooks its shocking revelation that 43 per cent of ESA claimants have attempted suicide.
“This is in stark contrast to the less than seven per cent of other adults – a disparity that’s more pronounced than for most other groups highlighted as high-risk in the strategy, denying claimants yet again the recognition and targeted help so desperately needed.”
Although the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has agreed three actions to support claimants at risk of suicide as part of the new strategy’s action plan, the department confirmed yesterday (Wednesday) that all three had been agreed in previous years.
It is commissioning a “call alert and transcription service” to “support the quick identification of people who raise suicidal thoughts when using DWP call helplines and services” and to “help staff identify these callers quickly and provide timely signposting”.
This appears to involve the use of “speech analytics” technology, although it is not clear exactly how this will work.
DWP has also said it will “identify opportunities to review and strengthen guidance and staff training” around claimants who disclose suicidal thoughts.
The department has been repeatedly criticised over the failure of its staff to follow this guidance, known as the six-point plan, and has previously promised to remind staff of its existence.
DWP also committed to “mandatory two-day mental health awareness training for all its frontline staff”, which again has previously been announced.
Watts said it was hard not to conclude that the failure to include the LCW/LCWRA group as high-risk was a “deliberate attempt to deflect from the repercussions of governmental policies”, when DWP’s actions show “show tacit acknowledgment of a problem”.
She said the measures taken by DWP were “not only insufficient but actively mask the deep, impactful changes needed”.
This includes the need for “the immediate cessation of the benefits sanctions system, known to drive many to desperate acts, and an end to the hostile policies that link worklessness with worthlessness, making life feel not only more perilous but also disposable, as countless claimants have shared”.
She added: “It’s perverse to insist DWP agents such as work coaches signpost suicidal claimants to help when they themselves are so often the straw that broke the camel’s back – an institutional gaslighting made worse by the fact so many claimants have been desperately seeking help from mental health services with waitlists of over one million already.
“The strategy, whilst laudable elsewhere, then puts a happy, smiley thumbs up of progress on the DWP’s failing, flailing system, obscuring, and becoming complicit in its violence.
“If every life truly matters, then saving them should be paramount – even if it embarrasses the government.”
A DHSC spokesperson refused to explain why the strategy did not include LCWRA/LCW claimants as a priority or high-risk group.
But he said in a statement: “Our suicide prevention strategy delivers a firm commitment to see the number of suicides in England decrease within 2.5 years and contains over 100 actions to save lives, provide early intervention and support anyone going through crisis.
“The strategy is informed by existing evidence and data, engagement with experts in the field, and by the responses we received to the mental health call for evidence.
“The groups of concern we have identified are not exhaustive, and many of the actions in the strategy will benefit people claiming benefits such as employment and support allowance.
“For example, we will launch a mental health impact assessment tool to inform policymaking across central and local government to ensure that policies consider the mental health impacts, particularly on vulnerable groups.”
14 September 2023
Watchdog appears set to approve mass ticket office closures
One of the two watchdogs tasked with running the huge public consultation on proposals to shut hundreds of rail ticket offices appears to have suggested to MPs that it will probably approve many of the planned closures.
Transport Focus appears set to recommend a “review period of 12 months to see how the changes have gone”, despite a consultation process that has seen hundreds of thousands of rail passengers raise concerns about the government-backed proposals put forward by rail companies.
The watchdog was one of a series of organisations giving evidence about the closures to the Commons transport committee yesterday (Wednesday), as part of its inquiry into accessible transport.
Its chief executive, Anthony Smith, told the committee: “I think there is a case, and we may well argue this either in particular cases or generally, that there is an argument for piloting this and seeing what the effect is and having a formal review after a period of time.”
He then added: “I think we might be arguing for a review period of 12 months to see how the changes have gone.”
He also suggested that Transport Focus would tell the train companies that the “mitigation” measures they have suggested to ease the impact of the closures – which mostly affect ticket offices in England – would have to be in place before the ticket offices are closed.
He said: “Without prejudging any individual responses, I think it’s quite clear that we will be saying to the train companies that the mitigation factors have to be in place before the changes come in because otherwise you’re getting the cart and the horse slightly the wrong way round.”
The next stage of the consultation process will end on 31 October, when Transport Focus and London TravelWatch will publish letters to each train company with their conclusions, as well as a general comment about the process and the issues raised during the consultation.
Smith also told the committee that the watchdog was “not in any way opposed” to the idea proposed by the train companies of “redeploying staff out of ticket offices onto a more visible role onto stations”.
He said: “If done properly, that could be of benefit to very many passengers who are seeking assistance… the principle, I think, is a positive one about redeployment, but it’s got to be done well and it’s got to pass quite a high hurdle.”
There was also a suggestion to MPs from the regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), that it would not oppose ticket office closures.
Stephanie Tobyn, ORR’s director of strategy, policy and reform, told the committee that the mitigation measures provided by the train companies would be there for passengers “who will not adapt well to this without support”.
She added: “I think it will take time to adjust, I think there will be a significant period of adjustment.”
Tobyn told the committee that she did not understand some of the proposals put forward by the train companies, particularly those relating to stations that would rely on mobile teams to turn up to provide support at smaller stations once a week at a certain time.
She said: “I can’t understand how that would facilitate turn up and go assistance [for disabled people].”
Tobyn said she also had concerns about how passengers with visual impairments would find staff to assist them on stations once ticket offices had closed, and how induction loops would be provided.
She added: “The most risk will be unstaffed stations where people wish to turn up and go and how that assistance will be provided.”
The committee had earlier heard from the disabled people’s organisation Transport for All that it did not trust the government to listen to the hundreds of thousands of concerns raised during the consultation (see separate story).
Four representatives of the rail industry also gave evidence, but they provided little new information.
Andy Mellors, managing director of Avanti West Coast, did eventually admit that its 27 staff at Glasgow Central would be cut by nine or 10 under its current proposals.
Simon Moorhead, chief information officer of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents the companies that run Britain’s railways, admitted that 20 per cent of tickets purchased by holders of disabled persons railcards were currently bought in ticket offices.
He declined to say how many rail stations that are currently staffed would become unstaffed under the current proposals, but he said he would write to the committee with that information.
14 September 2023
Disabled politician sues Lib Dems over discrimination that left her suicidal
A disabled politician has described how the discriminatory treatment she received at the hands of the Liberal Democrats, as one of the party’s elected councillors, was so bad it triggered epileptic seizures and left her feeling suicidal.
Avril Coelho, a former chair of the Liberal Democrat Disability Association (LDDA), says she faced discrimination and bullying by party officials as an up-and-coming disabled politician in the party’s Richmond and Twickenham stronghold.
She is now taking legal action against the party over its alleged failure to provide her with the reasonable adjustments she needed while campaigning to be elected to Richmond council in 2018, and the unlawful victimisation she says she suffered when she complained.
Her case is due to be heard at a civil court in south-west London next month, and she is now seeking financial support through a crowd-funding website to pay her legal fees.
She said she decided to take the case because she wanted to ensure that other disabled women of colour – and others – can speak out on issues of social justice within the party.
Coelho was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor on Richmond council in 2018, winning a previously safe Conservative seat.
But despite the party being aware of her degenerative condition, which causes epilepsy, migraines and chronic pain, she claims it refused to provide the support she needed with campaigning.
In a legal document describing her claim against the party, she says she was set targets that were “unobtainable for a single person with limited mobility, no access to private transport and in full time work”.
She says the party also failed to set up a web page for her, and to provide her with the same literature as other candidates.
At the election count, she was told by the party that none of her Liberal Democrat group could leave early, and – as a result – she had a seizure.
Hours later, the local party arranged a victory photoshoot for candidates before she had time to recover from her seizure, she claims.
In the closing stages of the election campaign, she had complained about the local party’s failure to provide her with the reasonable adjustments she had requested.
But instead of dealing with those concerns, a party official submitted a complaint about her complaint.
Even though she was off sick with stress, the party went ahead with its investigation and produced a report without interviewing her or her witnesses or seeing her evidence.
She was reprimanded and told she could not stand as a parliamentary candidate for two years.
She had been on the party’s list of candidates approved to stand at general elections, but she was unable to seek selection as the candidate for Twickenham – a seat the party went on to win at the 2019 general election – because of the ban.
She claims this treatment was unlawful victimisation under the Equality Act.
Coelho was also excluded from the ruling group of Richmond councillors, and her formal approval to stand for re-election to the council in the party’s name was not renewed.
She told Disability News Service this week that her treatment led to her being “excommunicated, isolated, bullied, disrespected, side-lined, [and I] had my epileptic seizures triggered and exacerbated”.
The anxiety she experienced at her treatment led to suicidal thoughts while she was shielding alone during the pandemic, and she was left sitting as an independent councillor.
Coelho continued to speak out against what she saw as significant discrimination, but she faced what she says were further “ridiculous” complaints.
After being elected unopposed as LDDA chair, she was told her party membership was being suspended, based on allegations of bullying – which she claims were unfounded – which led to another seizure.
She says she was “inevitably” expelled from the party.
The ordeal caused migraines, epileptic seizures and physical injuries from those seizures, as well as significant mental distress.
Coelho claims in her civil case that the party “weaponised” its complaints system as a way of silencing her after she complained about her treatment and expressed her wider concerns about discrimination.
She told DNS: “The court action I am taking, at great risk to myself (which the party’s lawyers waste no time in reminding me), is important to me, but it’s also important to everyone who is reading this.
“Only by challenging orthodoxy can we ensure the change in societal attitudes that is so desperately needed.”
Elliot Hammer, Coelho’s solicitor, and a partner at Branch Austin McCormick, said: “I am very pleased to represent Avril Coelho in her disability discrimination case against the Liberal Democrats, including claims for a failure to make reasonable adjustments and for unlawful victimisation, at her trial on 23 and 24 October 2023.
“We urge any members of the public who want to support Avril to donate to her crowd funder or to share and talk about her case on social media.”
A Liberal Democrat spokesperson said: “It would not be appropriate for us to comment on this case given that legal proceedings are ongoing.”
14 September 2023
‘We don’t trust government to listen to ticket office consultation,’ MPs are told
A disabled people’s organisation has told MPs it does not trust the government to listen to the hundreds of thousands of concerns raised during a consultation on proposals to close hundreds of rail ticket offices.
Members of the Commons transport committee heard yesterday (Wednesday) that there were likely to have been more than 750,000 responses to the consultation, once written responses have been counted by watchdogs Transport Focus and London TravelWatch.
Transport Focus later appeared to suggest to the committee that it would probably approve many of the planned closures (see separate story).
Katie Pennick, campaigns and communications manager for Transport for All, told the committee: “I don’t have trust in the government to listen to the responses of the consultation, particularly around the fact that this directive seems to have come from the department itself.”
Transport for All was one of a series of organisations giving evidence about the closures to the committee yesterday as part of its inquiry into accessible transport.
The committee heard that the current proposals – which mostly affect ticket offices in England – were set to lead to more than 2,300 redundancies among rail staff.
Pennick said Transport for All was fighting for more staff to be available to assist disabled rail passengers with their journeys, not fewer.
She said: “That’s what we’re fighting for and that’s what’s so demoralising about this entire conversation is that my best-case scenario in all of this is things don’t get worse, but we won’t have secured progress.”
Pennick said she was “really disappointed to see the opaqueness” of the consultation documents produced by the train companies, and “the number of misleading statements there were in the documents, particularly around staffing”.
She also told the MPs that most of the equality impact assessments produced by the train companies had been “copy and paste jobs” that “don’t take into account the specific circumstances in each area”.
And she said Transport for All was not confident that the “mitigations” promised by the train companies “will be in place and will work by the time that ticket offices are set to shut”.
Four rail industry representatives who gave evidence later in the morning repeatedly spoke of how their plans to close ticket offices would bring rail staff “out from behind the glass” into new multi-skilled roles that would benefit customers, including disabled passengers.
But Pennick told MPs: “The idea that staff currently being behind the glass is a problem that needs to be fixed is not the case at all; it’s actually one of the most important accessibility features of a ticket office.
“It’s a designated place where disabled people can go and be assured that they will find assistance from that place.”
Without that designated location, she said, disabled people – including those with mobility or energy-limiting impairments – would need to go “traipsing round a station” trying to find a member of staff to assist them.
Mick Lynch, general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), said the proposals were simply about “cuts”.
He told the committee: “Reform and modernisation are the two most abused words in this building. This is a fig leaf for cuts, mass cuts to staff, mass cuts to provision.
“They’re not interested in what we’re all supposed to be interested in, the turn up and go social model of accessibility and disability.
“They just want to ram this through to save money.”
He said the changes had been initiated by transport secretary Mark Harper.
Lynch also said that a quarter of jobs would be cut at rail stations under the proposals, with the loss of 2,300 positions.
He said: “The companies have notified us of that already. They’re not taking them out of the ticket office to work on the platforms, they’re taking them out of the ticket office to make cuts.
“They are going to cut the staff and cut accessibility.”
14 September 2023
Questions for Network Rail as plans emerge for yet another inaccessible footbridge
New information suggests Network Rail has under-stated its plans to build more inaccessible footbridges, after proposals emerged for a new stepped bridge in the heart of west London.
Network Rail claimed in July in a freedom of information (FoI) response that it planned to build 17 more inaccessible bridges from 2022 to 2024, but that it had no plans to build any in the south of England.
But Disability News Service has already reported on two inaccessible footbridges that Network Rail is planning to build, in Wokingham, Berkshire, and in Egham, Surrey.
Now plans have emerged for yet another inaccessible footbridge, this time in Hounslow, west London.
Plans submitted to Hounslow council show Network Rail plans to replace an ageing stepped footbridge at Brooks Lane with another stepped footbridge, with work due to start next month.
A letter from Network Rail to the council says the “primary objective” of the proposal is “to replace the existing footbridge with one that is of similar design and scale whilst meeting modern standards”.
It says the current bridge “is in the most appropriate location to continue to provide the most convenient access to the local footpath network”.
Disability Network Hounslow had not been told about the plans for the new footbridge until alerted to the proposals this week by Disability News Service (DNS).
Penny Ledger, chair of the network, said it was important to point out the advantages of ramps and lifts not only to disabled people but also those with baby buggies, shopping and suitcases, and to cyclists.
She said: “I think joining up areas separated by rail tracks should be an important priority for planners.”
DNS was originally contacted by a local campaigner, Andrew Ross, who has questioned why Network Rail has no plans to make the new bridge accessible to disabled people and others who cannot use steps.
He points out that there is a large, sheltered housing complex just 100 metres away from the bridge, and a junior and infant school even closer – which has a unit for autistic children – while the bridge provides access to shops on the south side of the bridge, and to an underground and mainline rail station on the north side.
He says that the alternative way of accessing the south side of the Brooks Lane footbridge from the north side means a pedestrian taking a route of more than a mile.
The area to the south side of the bridge is also a popular tourist destination.
Network Rail is currently investigating the accuracy of July’s FoI response about how many inaccessible footbridges it is planning to build.
The public body, which owns and runs most of the country’s rail infrastructure, has previously blamed cost factors for its decision to continue building footbridges that are likely to breach its legal duties under the Equality Act.
A spokesperson for Network Rail refused to say if it believed the Brooks Lane plans would breach the Equality Act.
He also refused to explain why the FoI response had stated that there were no inaccessible footbridges planned for the southern region this year or next year, suggesting that Network Rail’s freedom of information team would answer this question after it has completed its investigation.
But he said in a statement: “Brooks Lane Bridge in Hounslow is life expired and needs to be replaced for safety reasons.
“Its location means a ramped replacement would not be possible. We aim to have this project underway later this year and will be in touch with users and neighbours soon.”
Councillor Katherine Dunne, deputy leader of Hounslow council and its cabinet member for climate, environment and transport, told DNS in a statement: “As a council we are committed to helping make rail travel accessible for all.
“Improved and accessible public transport options contribute to making our borough cleaner and greener and is an important stepping stone in the council’s journey for tackling our climate emergency and we will apply that commitment insofar as planning law will allow.
“With regards to this specific application it remains under consideration, all concerns raised will be considered in detail and the reasons for the decision publicised when a decision is issued.
“Should the application be refused then a full planning application would be required.
“That application would be considered against the council’s development plan policies, which include policies on disabled access.
“Such an application would also be considered against the council’s obligations under the Equality Act.”
14 September 2023
Leonard Cheshire’s care home closure plan ‘is underhand and immoral’
Disabled residents of a Leonard Cheshire care home have described the charity’s actions as “underhand”, “immoral” and “despicable” after it suddenly announced plans to close the service and sell the building.
Two residents of Chiltern House, in Gerrards Cross, south Buckinghamshire, told Disability News Service (DNS) this week that they had arrived back from their holidays to be told Leonard Cheshire was planning to sell their home.
The charity is already under investigation by the Charity Commission over its financial problems, although the commission said in May that it was “satisfied that the charity has a robust turnaround plan in place and is making progress in putting it into action”.
Residents said they had been told the home was being sold for financial reasons, although the charity yesterday (Wednesday) blamed other reasons and said it was a “strategic decision”.
It is just the latest in a series of care homes the charity has been forced to sell in recent years.
In last year’s annual report (PDF), Leonard Cheshire’s chief executive, Ruth Owen, spoke of “a serious financial challenge that had built up over many years”. That report also detailed a “dedicated Property Disposal Team”.
The charity has been selling its care homes – sometimes to other service-providers – since 2018, when it was accused of making “a complete mockery” of its supposed commitment to service-user involvement after suddenly telling residents of 17 of its homes that it planned to sell them to other care-providers.
The 22 disabled residents of Chiltern House have been told their home will not be sold to another provider.
Instead, it will close by the end of February next year if the proposal is confirmed after a short consultation.
Mark, one of the residents, told DNS the decision was “totally immoral”.
In the past, he has given talks to local Rotary clubs, schools and colleges in which he has praised the charity.
Now he faces being kicked out of the home where he has lived for more than a quarter of a century.
He said: “I think it’s very underhand. We are being penalised because of where we live. The site is probably worth quite a lot of money.
“So many people’s lives are going to be shattered. It’s not easy to get rehoused and to get links in the community again.
“It is not just an existence, we get out and do things, we are part of the community.”
He said he had been informed about the closure five minutes after returning from holiday last Friday and was told by the charity it faced a financial “deficit” and that Leonard Cheshire “owes the bank a lot and the bank wants to see more repayments made”.
He said he still hoped the charity would change its mind, but he added: “I fear it is just going to be about money rather than people. It’s just money, money, money.”
He said the decision appeared to be “totally against” the charity’s founding principles.
Mark said: “I was gutted. As far as I am concerned, the home is run very well at a local level and a lot of the staff are very dedicated.
“I think we have been penalised for things that have happened elsewhere.”
At least two of its residents are believed to have moved to Chiltern House in the last year, after being forced to leave another Leonard Cheshire care home that was being sold.
Another resident, Sandra, a former teacher who has lived at Chiltern House since 1985, told DNS she thought the charity’s decision was “despicable”, and that it wanted to sell the care home because the land was so valuable.
She said: “Leonard Cheshire [the charity’s founder] would turn in his grave.”
She said she was worried about where she would move next, as she has no family and there is a shortage of accommodation locally for disabled people.
There will now be a four-week consultation, and some residents are determined to fight the plans to sell their home.
Leonard Cheshire said it had “significantly” cut staff outside frontline care delivery, reduced other spending, and secured increases in fees “so they are appropriate to the current costs involved in care delivery”, while its “good progress” would be reflected in its accounts for 2022-23, which will be published soon.
A Leonard Cheshire spokesperson told DNS: “Huge challenges remain in modernising much of our social care delivery, with many of our services and supporting technology requiring investment.
“This means we have had to make some difficult decisions about some of our services.”
He said that Chiltern House needed “a considerable amount of investment” for essential work, and that upgrading the service to meet “preferred choices from disabled people in the future would cost vastly more”.
He said Children House income had not kept pace with rising costs, while recruitment for some key roles had “proved difficult”, with problems securing a suitable permanent manager and “high agency use for extended periods”.
He said: “We appreciate any closure proposal causes a degree of upset and worry and we are working closely with everyone impacted.
“However, given the long-term trends at Chiltern House, we cannot justify the kind of long-term financial commitment necessary to modernise the service so it has a sustainable future.
“Having considered all the circumstances and with great regret, we are now proposing to close Chiltern House.”
He added: “There is a dedicated team in place to manage what is a sensitive situation for all, with named contacts for residents and families to talk through any concerns.
“We will work closely with residents and local authorities funding their places to secure alternative support which is right for them. This will not be a rushed process.”
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “The commission’s inquiry into Leonard Cheshire remains ongoing at this time, and as such we cannot comment further.
“It is our standard practice to make our findings public once an inquiry has concluded.”
14 September 2023
Report calls for ‘proper safety net’ for disabled people
A user-led campaign group has welcomed a “timely and important” new report that shows disabled people are caught in a financial “disability trap” because of the extra costs they face, and their problems accessing work, benefits and essential services.
The Disability Poverty Campaign Group (DPCG), which is led by disabled people’s organisations Disability Rights UK and Inclusion London, said the findings would intensify calls from its members for a parliamentary inquiry into the causes of disability poverty.
The Financial Wellbeing of Disabled People in the UK was produced by researchers at the University of Bristol’s Personal Finance Research Centre and from the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RiDC).
Although none of the authors are disabled people, they spoke to 57 members of RiDC’s UK-wide research panel of disabled people about their financial wellbeing, and then surveyed more than 800 members of the panel.
Some of those they spoke to described the “punishing and humiliating” process of applying for benefits and the discrimination they faced from employers.
One said: “What’s even worse is the lack of control that you have over your own finances, especially if you’re on benefits.
“It feels like these can be taken away at any time, and you’re also reassessed every two to three years, based on your eligibility.
“And with universal credit, you don’t know what you’re going to get the next month.”
The researchers found that 27 per cent of disabled adults were in serious financial difficulty, compared to 11 per cent of non-disabled adults, with half (47 per cent) of disabled people who receive universal credit struggling to pay for food and other essentials.
But they also found that some disabled people were much more likely to face financial hardship than others, with some age groups reporting significantly worse financial wellbeing than older disabled people.
The survey found 19 per cent of disabled people of pension age said they faced a “constant struggle” to meet bills and credit commitments, but this rose to 40 per cent for those aged 45 to 54.
Disabled people with certain impairments were also significantly more likely to be in financial trouble than other disabled people.
Those most likely to report facing a constant struggle with bills were those with mobility impairments, learning difficulties, mental health impairments, impairments that affect appearance, multiple health conditions, chronic fatigue and impairments that were acquired suddenly.
Helen Rowlands and Dan White, co-leads of DPCG, said the report showed that the systems that should provide a safety net for disabled people “are broken” and that “nothing about the UK benefits system works well for disabled claimants and their households”.
In many cases, they said, engaging with the system is a “disabling ordeal” that can lead to “distress and self-harm”.
The report was supported by abrdn Financial Fairness Trust.
Among its recommendations, the report calls for a benefits system that provides a “proper safety net”; targeted support to reduce the costs of disability, such as higher water and energy bills; better access to essential services and advice; and improved access to jobs for those who can work.
Professor Sharon Collard, chair in personal finance at the University of Bristol, and one of the report’s authors, said: “There are examples of positive changes already happening on some of the issues we highlight in the report.
“But to make a real difference, major changes are required to ensure that all disabled people in the UK have a decent standard of living.”
Gordon McCullough, RiDC’s chief executive, said: “This report highlights the disability trap many disabled people find themselves in where the cost-of-living crisis has exacerbated the extra costs associated with being disabled.
“We hope this report shows the importance of fully appreciating the challenges and barriers disabled people face when understanding what financial wellbeing means to them.”
14 September 2023
Other disability-related stories covered by mainstream media this week
Hundreds of thousands of people could be excluded from voting in a UK general election because of voter ID laws, the government’s election watchdog has said. The laws could have a disproportionate effect on poorer people, disabled people and people from minority ethnic backgrounds, the Electoral Commission warned. It said ministers should take urgent action to alleviate these impacts: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/sep/13/uk-election-watchdog-issues-damning-verdict-on-voter-id-impact
The government has handed billions to companies to assess disability benefit claims over the years, but it has the power to claw some of that money back when performance is poor. New government figures seem to show that performance has dramatically improved over the years, even though disabled people are still facing “harrowing and inhumane” experiences: https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/dwp-disability-benefit-assessments-fines-atos-maximus-capita/
The government has quietly signed a contract targeting 20 per cent cuts to the number of new education plans for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to bring down costs, the Observer can reveal. Then education minister Claire Coutinho – recently promoted to the cabinet as energy secretary – subsequently told MPs that no targets were in place. The cuts target has emerged as councils across England grapple with huge financial deficits on their SEND budgets: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/10/revealed-covert-deal-to-cut-help-for-pupils-in-england-with-special-needs
The fact that over half of the rail stations in the north are not accessible for wheelchair-users has been described as “very, very worrying”. A report looking at all 600 stations in the north found many lacking facilities that would allow disabled people to make full use of them. Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, said accessibility was apparently seen as a low priority by rail companies, and this needed to change: https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/23787909.lack-disabled-access-stations-north-worrying/
Former Tory cabinet minister Dame Priti Patel has launched an astonishing attack on government-backed ticket office closures – saying she’s “absolutely flabbergasted” by the plans. Dame Priti piled extra pressure on Rishi Sunak to intervene over plans to cull nearly 1,000 ticket offices across England, saying she’d been left “frustrated and deeply angry”. It comes as the prime minister faces a growing rebellion within his party over the unpopular closures: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/priti-patel-says-shes-deeply-30929065
14 September 2023
News provided by John Pring at www.disabilitynewsservice.com
