The benefits system is broken – and disabled people pay the price for the DWP's 'poor service'

Benefits are a lifeline for disabled people both in and out of work. If functioning correctly, our social security system can help disabled people live fulfilled independent lives, contribute to their communities, feel a sense of stability and afford the extra costs that disability brings. Sadly, however, scarcely a week goes by without a new report confirming just how badly our benefits system is broken.

One of these reports was released on Friday (January 31), when the Public Accounts Committee described the Department of Work and Pensions‘ treatment of disability benefits claimants as “unacceptably poor”.

The report found, among other things, that the DWP does not understand disabled people’s needs well enough, that disabled benefits claimants were underpaid by billions of pounds, and that people claiming disability benefits wait ten times as long to have their calls answered as people claiming other benefits.

• Disabled Brits suffering ‘unacceptably poor’ treatment at hands of the DWP, damning report finds
• DWP’s benefit fraud crackdown blasted as ‘one of the biggest assaults on welfare in a generation’

The findings are shocking, yet they didn’t surprise us at Sense. Disabled people have been raising the alarm for years on the problems with the benefits system, and particularly the process of claiming benefits.

Last year, we asked people living with complex disabilities what applying for benefits was like for them. Three in five people said they felt scared before their assessment, and half felt humiliated by the process. Half also said that applying for benefits made their health condition worse.

Friday’s report also quotes Sense’s research which found nearly half of disabled people were repeatedly contacted by the DWP in ways that were not accessible to them, despite the DWP knowing their needs. One woman we support who is blind was sent a printed decision letter about her benefits in the post, and so needed a relative to read her the decision. This robs disabled people of the right to privacy and to live as independently as possible.

We also know at Sense that even when people are awarded benefits, it’s often not enough. It’s therefore worrying that the Public Accounts Committee found that last year benefit claimants missed out on £4bn that they were entitled to, an increase on the year before. In many cases this is due to someone missing a deadline to communicate a change in circumstances – yet as the report acknowledges, this communication is often inaccessible and the DWP fails to answer incoming calls.

There are many, many extra costs associated with being disabled. People may need to put the heating on more, rely on taxis instead of public transport, use more electricity to power medical devices, or fund private physiotherapy. Disability benefits are meant to help people cover some of these extra costs, but half of disabled people told us they pay more for disability-related expenses than they get in disability benefits.

Sense wants to see urgent changes from the government to fix the state of disability benefits. As the report points out, the DWP needs to understand disabled people’s needs better. We’d like to see them commit to creating clear standards for accessible communication, in consultation with disabled people. They should train their staff in how to implement these, and there should be financial penalties for private assessment providers who fail to follow these standards.

The process of applying for benefits should be streamlined, so it no longer feels like an ordeal for disabled people. Where possible, the DWP should make decisions based on application forms and supporting evidence rather than antagonistic assessments. It’s important that accessors speak to experts in different conditions or impairments before an assessment, to rectify the current situation where a quarter of disabled people told Sense they didn’t think their accessor understood their disability.

The upcoming health and disability green paper provides a perfect opportunity for the government to introduce changes to the welfare system to make it fair and dignified for disabled people. Like the NHS, the welfare system should be there for all of us when we need it. Let’s hope the government can make that a reality.

Evan John is policy and public affairs advisor at Sense, the national disability charity that supports people living with complex disabilities. For more information on Sense, visit the charity’s website here.

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.