Advertisement
Become a member of the Big Issue community
JOIN
Social Justice

Labour's plan to 'get Brits back to work' must not be an excuse for slashing benefits, charities say

Charities are urging the government to support disabled people, rather than threatening sanctions and disability benefits cuts as the previous government had done

Prime minister Keir Starmer has said people should be expected to look for work, including those who are off work due to long-term sickness. Image: Lauren Hurley/ No 10 Downing Street

Labour has pledged to “get sick Brits back to health and back to work”, but charities warn this must not be used as an “excuse to slash” disability benefits.

A record 2.8 million people are out of work due to ill-health, up by 500,000 since 2019. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts that the bill for sickness and disability benefits will soar by £30bn in the next five years.

Speaking at the Labour Party conference on Wednesday (25 September), health secretary Wes Streeting said: “Our reforms are focused not only on delivering our health mission but also moving the dial on our growth mission too.  

“We will take the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS, get sick Brits back to health and back to work. That’s the difference a Labour government makes.”

It echoes words from the prime minister. Keir Starmer was asked by the BBC’s Today programme whether the “country has a right to expect” people to look for work even if they “think they can’t work”.

“Of course people need to look for work,” he said. “But they also need support.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

Starmer said that he believes people who have been out of work due to long-term sickness face “fear” about returning to employment: “Can they get back into the workplace? Are they going to be able to cope? Is it all going to go hopelessly wrong?”

However, when asked about the potential for sanctioning people if they refuse to look for work, he reiterated that he agreed with the “basic proposition that you should look for work”.

Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, also said in her speech in the Labour Party conference: “The only way to get Britain growing again is to get Britain working again.”



It comes amid fears over potential changes to disability benefits which could see support stripped back. The Conservative government had proposed reforming the personal independence payment (PIP), such as through replacing the benefit with one-off grants or vouchers.

There are also plans to restrict the health element of universal credit through reforming the work capability assessment. By 2028/ 2029, more than 400,000 ill and disabled people could miss out on support worth around £400 each year. Labour is yet to confirm whether it will continue with these plans.

Ayla Ozmen, director of policy and campaigns at anti-poverty charity Z2K, said: “While improving employment support for seriously ill and disabled people is welcome, this must not be used as an excuse for slashing vital financial support – especially when the evidence shows that such cuts do nothing to help people enter work.

“The government must commit to protecting financial support for seriously ill and disabled people.”

Big Issue has reported extensively on how difficult the disability benefits system is to navigate already, with some disabled people facing “psychological trauma to the point of being suicidal”.

James Taylor, director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope said: “We still haven’t heard what the government are planning to do with PIP and the work capability assessment. This is making disabled people feel anxious and that they haven’t been listened to. The government needs to work with disabled people to set out a positive vision for the benefits system.”

Research shows that a punitive benefits system – such as the use of sanctions – pushes people further away from the workplace and puts greater pressure on the NHS because of the impact on their mental and physical health.

Chris Thomas, head of the commission on health and prosperity at IPPR, said: “We have to break from the policy trajectory that the last government had, and there are implications that this government will do that. Scratching behind some of the rhetoric, things like bringing health into workplaces as a preventative intervention, linking health and employment services and fixing the NHS in terms of health and care support, I think that’s all good.

“But anything the government might want to talk about in terms of people’s obligations to find work has to be met with a huge amount of state intervention in terms of giving people the means to do that.”

Thomas noted that generally, disabled people want to be in work, but they face “barriers” to employment – and the government must look to “bring those down, and that means looking across the health and care system, the social security system, and the standards of employment that we have”.

Harriet Edwards, head of policy at the national disability charity Sense, said: “The prime minister’s comments ignore the enormous and deeply unfair barriers that far too many disabled people face when it comes to jobhunting.

“Benefits are a vital lifeline, not a lifestyle choice, for many people with complex disabilities. For some, working is not possible. But many others desperately want to work and the current system blocks them from doing so.”

Sense’s research shows half of jobseekers with complex disabilities don’t feel they have the support and equipment they need to look for a job. Almost a third (31%) of jobseekers with complex disabilities said that having assistive technology in their jobcentre would help them communicate and look for jobs, while zero jobcentres across the country have this available.

Taylor added: “If the government is serious about supporting disabled people into work they need to stop attacking benefit claimants and address the true barriers to employment.

“Disabled people are pushing hard to get jobs but find the employment market is stacked against them. At the same time nobody should be forced into work if they are unable to work.”

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) plans to increase employment support people with a new national jobs and careers service, devolved work, health and skills plans, and a youth guarantee for young people.

This plan has been welcomed by charities, but they warn that more must be done to fix the fundamental problems causing worklessness in the UK – including cutting NHS waiting lists and ensuring that people get the financial support they need before their health deteriorates.

Streeting pledged in his speech to send “crack teams of top clinicians to hospitals across the country to roll out reforms – developed by surgeons – to treat more patients and cut waiting lists”. The first 20 hospitals targeted by these teams will be in areas with the highest people off work sick.

Shelley Hopkinson, head of policy and influencing at anti-poverty charity Turn2us, said: “We welcome the prime minister’s focus on supporting those who can work to find secure and meaningful employment.

“However, threatening language and headlines stigmatise the many people who are unable to work due to poor health or long-term conditions and can deter people from claiming the support they need. Most of us will rely on our social security system at some point in our lives.”

An estimated £23bn in financial support goes unclaimed each year, and Hopkinson stresses “it’s crucial that everyone who needs it feels supported and confident in accessing the help available to them”.

The Labour conference has also seen the DWP announce a crackdown on welfare fraud, which charities are concerned risks further “stigmatising” benefits claimants and pushing people away from the financial support they need to afford the basics they need to survive.

“We’re against anyone defrauding the system, but the level of fraud with disability benefits is miniscule,” Taylor said. “This narrative demonises disabled people who genuinely need support with the extra costs they face.”

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. Big Issue exists to give homeless and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy of the magazine or get the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Advertisement

Become a Big Issue member

3.8 million people in the UK live in extreme poverty. Turn your anger into action - become a Big Issue member and give us the power to take poverty to zero.

Recommended for you

View all
Three million children are facing hunger in the UK – with kids under four most at risk
boy leaning back on a wall looking sad
Poverty

Three million children are facing hunger in the UK – with kids under four most at risk

Disability benefits system is damaging claimants' health, DWP's own analysis finds: 'It's degrading'
disability benefits
Disability benefits

Disability benefits system is damaging claimants' health, DWP's own analysis finds: 'It's degrading'

'Food is expensive': How free community meals have become lifelines for people struggling to survive
foodcycle meal
Poverty

'Food is expensive': How free community meals have become lifelines for people struggling to survive

'It's hell on Earth': British doctors recall seeing 'unimaginable suffering' in Gaza
War in Gaza

'It's hell on Earth': British doctors recall seeing 'unimaginable suffering' in Gaza

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know