1 day ago
4
The run-up to today’s announcement of disability benefit cuts has been upsetting, leaving me feeling there is a devastating fight for survival ahead. It seems likely that disabled people and those unable to work will be pushed even further into hardship.
I am a single father and get personal independence payments (Pip). I have mental health issues and was diagnosed with autism towards the end of the Covid pandemic. I also receive universal credit, getting the limited capability for work-related activity element, which, we now know, will be cut for new claimants and frozen for existing ones like me. As inflation continues to rise, the freeze will mean that my income falls and I’m left struggling even harder to make ends meet. I already live on the edge of existence with the amount of money I have to survive on after paying unavoidable expenses. Every day is a new challenge – not knowing what food I can afford to buy, and is also more expensive in the local shops I have to use because I can’t afford to travel to larger supermarkets.
In our family, there are no Christmas or birthday treats, no fun days out or the occasional takeaway, no newspapers or magazines, no TV or streaming subscriptions. If it is not an absolute necessity in order to survive then we can’t even consider spending on it. Every single penny in cost increases in recent times, from food to medicine or utility bills, is a penny that has to be found from elsewhere.
But after years of cutting back there is just no way I will be able to cut back any further if the proposed changes to disability benefits go ahead. And if Labour is so ready to cut social security, might there be even more of this to come? The uncertainty around the future and what lies ahead leaves me suffering from so much anxiety that I am barely able to focus on living. I spend most of my time worrying about how we will survive.
Things have been difficult like this for a while. During the pandemic, living on a basic income, I couldn’t afford to cover everyday costs like school meals, school uniform, household bills and broadband. I was unable to replace much of my daughter’s school uniform throughout secondary school, and at the start of lockdown we did not have an internet connection at home – something that was essential for my daughter’s schooling. Covering the cost of broadband meant making enormous sacrifices. I have since been forced to switch off the heating at home and I have drastically reduced the amount of electricity we use by not turning on lights unless absolutely necessary and limiting myself to one cup of coffee each morning.
My own health, both physically and mentally, has worsened over the years because I have neglected myself to make sure my daughter is as well cared-for as possible. Diet is a very important part of one of my health issues, but fresh, healthy, nourishing food is more expensive to buy, leaving me in a cycle of ill health and poverty.
The changes to benefits and the cuts announced today are going to be another kick in the teeth for many, including me. I’m relieved that the freeze to my Pip payment that I was expecting has not been announced. But the changes that have been confirmed are still extremely dangerous. These announcements will push people’s stress and anxiety levels up, further worsening health issues for those needing to claim. Tightening the eligibility to make a claim will not do anything positive to help those in need.
I’m anxious about the changes to the assessment process, and that there will be big delays in getting people assessed for Pip, leaving people being wrongly assessed due to the shortage of fully trained staff and medical assessors who can properly understand how physical and mental health issues affect many people in different ways. There is already a shortage of qualified support workers and work coaches to spend the time needed to assess people in a way that does not make claimants feel as if they do not deserve the help and support they need with respect and dignity.
I was one of a group of parents living in poverty who met with members of the government in Downing Street last year to push for changes to this broken system. I worry now that our pleas for change have been ignored. The government should be helping to support people with disabilities and those living on low incomes, as was promised in the lead-up to the last election. There must be other ways of bringing the government’s costs down.
Today’s measures will take many years to implement, leaving those claiming disability benefits with even more uncertainty about their future and how they will be able to survive safely. The system is already difficult to understand and negotiate. But today’s announcements simply make things tougher for everyone at a time when they need help the most.
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Brian takes part in Changing Realities, a collaboration between almost 200 parents and carers on a low income, researchers at the University of York and Child Poverty Action Group
