“Across the UK, there is growing concern about the impact of yet more cuts. It is apparent that lessons from the past are being deliberately ignored.”
The Big Issue has reported extensively on the disability benefits system – which some say is so difficult to navigate it causes “psychological trauma to the point of being suicidal”. Hundreds of readers have written to the Big Issue to share their own experiences of the DWP.
Disability activists have also written a letter to MPs, which will accompany the books, reminding them that the UK government was found guilty of “grave” and “systemic” violations of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as previously reported by The Big Issue.
It comes amid uncertainty over disability benefit reforms – the Conservative government announced a series of proposals including cuts to disability benefits, tougher sanctions for people out of work and regular PIP payments being replaced with one-off grants.
A consultation into the proposals for PIP ended in July and the government is currently reviewing the responses. Stephen Timms, the minister for social security in the DWP, said that the government will consider its “own approach to social security in due course” – but Labour is yet to confirm whether it will drop the Conservative proposals.
Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, has repeatedly raised concern about the record numbers of people out of work due to long-term sickness and a soaring welfare bill. She has said she wants to transform the DWP from a “department for welfare” into a “department for work”, while also pledging to eradicate the “blame culture” within the DWP.
John McArdle, co-founder of Black Triangle Campaign, whose idea it was to launch the crowdfunder, said: “The Department provides a casebook of how not to run a social security system. The current disability benefit assessment system is making people even sicker.
“Pushing disabled people into work that medical experts say we cannot do won’t address labour shortages and more disability benefit cuts are not a common-sense strategy for ‘fixing the foundations’.
“Long term-costs to the economy increase exponentially by failing to provide a stitch in time and save lives. There are alternative fiscal policies that could be adopted which won’t lead to more DWP created avoidable harm and death.
“Instead, deaf and disabled people and our organisations call upon the government to sit down with us to co-produce a safe and efficient disability benefit system that provides a genuine safety net to those who need it.”
A spokesperson for the DWP said: “We are committed to assuring our interactions with the millions of customers we support every year are not only compassionate, but appropriate for those who are vulnerable.
“As part of this, all DWP staff are trained to help support the most vulnerable customers to ensure they are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.
“We are always learning but we recognise there is more to do, which is why we have introduced systems where we can consistently act on feedback and make improvements when customers’ experiences have fallen below expectations.”
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