New welfare reform proposals will result in many disabled children facing a cut of up to £1,400 per year (£27 per week) compared to their current welfare entitlements.
By Sam Royston, Policy Adviser the Children’s society
A coalition of 30 national organisations and charities, led by The Children’s Society, are calling on the Government to reverse their planned cut to support for disabled children under the new Universal Credit.
The organisations have identified that new welfare reform proposals will result in many disabled children facing a cut of up to £1,400 per year (£27 per week) compared to their current welfare entitlements. By the time a disabled child reaches 16, this could cost the family £22,000.
Raising a disabled child is extremely expensive. The range of costs can include higher travel costs, increased fuel bills, extra childcare and loss of income due to hospital appointments.
The government estimates that 100,000 disabled children will be hit by this change.
The £27 lost per disabled child a week (which could double or triple if there are two or three disabled children in a family) is more than half the average family’s food budget. This can make the difference between a family coping or falling below the breadline. This shift will force families into poverty.
So why is the government making this change? It claims that the measures are being introduced in order to align child and adult rates of disability support.
But the group of adults with whom support is aligned are at some point likely to be able to move back into work. Children cannot work to raise extra money to increase their income, so have no way to escape poverty. It must be recognised that disabled children face additional barriers to escaping poverty and therefore require extra support.
It is absolutely crucial for people to join us in petitioning the government to understand the significance of this change for disabled children and their families. For many low income families already living on the breadline, this will make the difference between meeting their children’s basic needs and finding themselves unable to cope.
Click here for more information and to see the list of organisations that have signed up.
77 Responses to “Help stop government changes to welfare penalising disabled children”
DavidG
While strongly agreeing with the general thrust of the piece (I’d signed the petition even before seeing it), I must take issue with one statement: this is that “the group of adults with whom support is aligned are at some point likely to be able to move back into work”
This is far from universally the case. The disabled adults in question are those currently in the Work Related Activity Group of Employment and Support Allowance. The assumption for someone placed in WRAG is that they are not currently fit for work (no matter what the tabloids might claim), but may be able to return to the workforce at some undetermined point in the future. This is far from a certainty and many disabled people are likely to remain in WRAG for decades, with no more hope of returning to the workforce than the children discussed here.
This does not in any way invalidate the unacceptability of 100,000 disabled children losing a significant amount of benefit, but we must be vigilant against falling for the government’s persistent claims that all disabled people are either capable of work, or shirkers.
(And in the spirit of full disclosure, I’m currently in the ESA WRAG with no short term hope of a return to work).
Anon E Mouse
DavidG – “Mr Mouse’s inevitable attack on Labour is undercut by his own words”.
Nope.
Read the government’s response before you start criticising words that aren’t mine please: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2011-06-08b.57941.h&s=disabled+children+universal+credit+curran#g57941.q0
And btw DavidG you say you’d signed a petition “before even seeing it”. Enough said…
DPfC
RT @leftfootfwd: Help stop government changes to welfare penalising disabled children http://t.co/FvzYXOs
Ben Mayers
RT @leftfootfwd: Help stop government changes to welfare penalising disabled children http://t.co/FvzYXOs
Mr. Sensible
another consequence of a hastily constructed welfare reform agenda.