If the Welfare Reform Bill passes, the results will be horrific and at the Department for Work and Pensions, they are confident that it is a price worth paying.
Sue Marsh blogs at Diary of a Benefit Scrounger
Recently, it was reported that Crisis, the charity for the homeless, had warned 11,000 young disabled people were at risk of losing their homes due to the coalition’s housing benefit cap:
“Although 4,000 of the most vulnerable disabled claimants will be exempt because they need help through the day or night, most ill and disabled people will be forced to move into cheaper accommodation, often outside the area where they live.”
Those aged 25-34 will now only be able to rent shared accommodation rather than a one bed flat, on average, losing £41 per week towards their rent. The article makes the point that:
“This disturbing cut will force people suffering serious physical disabilities or mental illness to share with strangers, even if it damages their health.”
Well, yes it will and it is shocking. Not too shocking of course until we start to see things that make us feel uncomfortable. Not too shocking until we pass twisted bodies on the streets, their collecting cup lodged into their wheelchair handles, but shocking nonetheless.
Actually the really shocking thing is the accumulation of all the cuts faced by sick or disabled people and the effect it will have on their lives and almost certainly, their homes.
We already face the squeeze that able bodied people face. The VAT rise, the high inflation, the public sector cuts, the pay freezes, but overwhelmingly this group already live in poverty. On top of all of this, Scope report that sick and disabled people will lose £9.2 billion over the term of this parliament.
“The government’s proposed welfare reforms will see 3.5 million disabled people lose over £9.2 billion of critical support by 2015 pushing them further into poverty and closer to the fringes of society.”
The figure 9.2 billion is more than 10 per cent of Mr Osborne’s entire UK cuts to reduce the deficit. A full 10% taken from those with extra costs, extra needs and very, very difficult lives; it doesn’t matter how often I write it, I am shocked and terrified by its implications.
That’s 3.5 million people. Again, I write it and can hardly believe it’s true. Many don’t yet know what they face. Some will never know – their disabilities are too severe – but they will be affected just the same.
I have no idea how many of those 3.5 million will lose their homes, but the maths seems fairly clear. The entire cost (xls) to the welfare budget of sickness and disability benefits is £16 billion. 9.2 billion is over half of that.
I’m sure that unlike me, you won’t want to read this lengthy transcript of the Welfare Reform Bill committee, currently on its last stages through parliament, but I wish you would. After all these points were made and more, after a full discussion of the horrors that lie ahead for the sick and disabled, the poverty they are facing, the categorical failure of work programmes to help when their benefits are removed, Chris Grayling, Minister of State for Work and Pensions, had little to say.
To summarise, his answer was “I don’t care, we can no longer afford it…”
I don’t exaggerate – I wish I did. You can read it for yourselves. So, if I were you, I’d get used to seeing sick or disabled people on the streets. If this bill passes, the results will be horrific and at the DWP, they are confident that it is a price worth paying.
152 Responses to “The shocking impact of Osborne’s heartless cuts on the disabled”
Daniel Pitt
The shocking impact of Osborne's heartless cuts on the disabled http://t.co/Ts6p8w0 #ConDemNation
joe kane
It’s not just the forcible ethnic cleansing of poor, defenceless British people, who are facing arbitrary cuts in their housing benefits because the posh want to take over their property and home, whom mousey supports. Here is mousey, in comment 6 on the following thread on this blog, showing their support for violent and racist Israeli ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians on the West Bank –
6 “Great article – spot on and about time.
The sooner the BBC stop calling the West Bank Palestine the better…”
Comment by Anon E Mouse on February 3, 2011 at 1:29 pm
https://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/02/antisemitism-in-the-uk/
It will be interesting to see how much force and violence the British authorities use in carrying out the Etonian Tory policy of ethnically cleansing poor people from homes and property the powerful and rich find desirable.
As for supporting George Bush, mousey’s new pals in the Tory Party all voted for war with Iraq in the British Parliament back in 2003, except 15 – whereas 139 Labour Party MPs rebelled and 20 abstained. Maybe mosey can save some of their foam-flecked vitriol for their new buddies at Tory Central Office who were even more enthusiastic supporters of Bush than the New Labour Party was at the time.
Keep up the great work Sue.
Leon Wolfson
You’re not going far enough, Sue. Bring back rent boards, and accommodation standards. If they want to raise rent, they need to improve the property!
Slash the housing benefit budget by reducing rents to what properties are worth paying for. Shared flats, like the one I live in, which are draughty and have single glazing, should be cheap, period.
Also, Sue, on the issue of shared housing – while I agree in concept with people up to 35 getting the single-room rate (I strongly /prefer/ to share, for several reasons I won’t get into), there could easily be exceptions to this where medically appropriate, for recipients of disabled benefits. It’s not always appropriate, of course, and in some cases they might do better sharing with others.
Anon E Mouse
joe kane – The Labour government, that you know I supported until Brown was forced on the country, lied in the commons. And the enquiry being demanded about the death of David Kelly, smeared by the Labour government will show that. We all know joe kane.
To blame the Tories for voting on facts that were actually Labour government lies is typical of the dishonest lickspittle actions of tribal supporters like you.
If you can honestly say you looked at that poor human being in my link and can compare that with government cuts then your value system is way off.
You have also claimed that I somehow support ethnic cleansing because I called the West Bank what it is – the West Bank but that is your clear antisemitism joe kane and says more about you than the comment.
I am frankly horrified that you can show so little humanity and empathy towards an innocent human being in that link and that you seeming agree that it is OK to lie in the commons which results in the deaths of thousands of innocent people overseas.
That is a shameful position to advocate joe kane. What kind of upbringing can lead a human being to believe what you have posted? At least Sue Marsh and co don’t have the gall to suggest that picture was the same as government cuts as you seem to have.
Next you’ll be saying it’s OK to murder disabled babies (as long as they are black and live in Africa) to save the state money joe kane and may I suggest that if your shocking position is indicative of other Labour activists then the party is in a bad bad way.
To go through it’s proud history since 1900 and to end up with someone advocating your disgraceful position would make any real Labour supporter recoil in horror. Shocking.
Anon E Mouse
joe kane – Since you deliberately misrepresented my point and after checking some of your previous blog posts I realise that you do indeed appear to be antisemitic and actually show some sympathy to the Nazi’s who murdered people on an industrial scale. You said:
>snip
“it wasn’t that long ago the Jews not only refused to inter-marry, but were even so hostile to the western society all around them and its western values, that they wanted to take it over in order to destroy it.
And any poor Nazi who dared point out these Jewish crimes, was called an antisemite.
Comment by joe kane — 29 April, 2010 @ 12:06 am”
>snip
Seems to me that your views are indeed as disgusting as I have described above. No wonder the sight of that unfortunate human being meant nothing to you. Even more shocking…