To be concerned about what Liz Kendall is up to with disability benefits?

[Locutus2000]

The Times reporting just how enthusiastic Labour are about targeting the disabled.

I can only hope they are getting the worst ideas out there first, if not I dread to think what is coming in the upcoming review.

I was confident Labour would at worst be no worse than the Tories.

I was wrong.

Free archive link here.

I got very anxious during the pandemic.
That was five years ago. We need to move on.

I just don’t think he is any more expensive than a nt teenager, in some ways cheaper. He doesn’t want the latest trainers or fashionable clothes or mobile phone. He does wear specific clothing but it’s joggers or jogger shorts so not expensive, I do spend some of the dla on Lego in the holidays as he is very into thst and hes had a few very expensive kits. He’s not into animals so wouldnt want a pet. I would actually prefer if there were more accessible things for us to do as the Sen sessions where they do exist tend to be at stupid o clock in the morning on a weekend and now he’s a teenager he doesn’t want to get up at that time. Likewise in the holidays it would be great if there was a suitable holiday club he could go to but there just isn’t one locally even if I was happy to pay for it.

appreciate the comments about when he’s an adult and not having employment etc then he will defiantly need pip especially when I am no longer around, to pay for assistance etc but at the minute he isn’t costing us any more than what my other friends with nt teenagers cost them

If they end up implementing these cuts I genuinely worry what society will look like.

@pointythings your post is so so true. If it doesn't impact people directly, there's no clue regards the state of things.

I'm on groups where we have thousand and thousands of parents and ND people on their knees. You can't get any blinking help or assessment or meds. I'm now £4000 down for my son and haven't even paid for a private prescription yet.

I can see now how many young people in the criminal justice system are probably ND.

This is why I'm happy to see a suggestion by Labour that mental health practitioners could be located alongside GPs ' under one toof', so people can get help with their MH. How many posts have we read from Mumsnet posters saying ' my DP is suffering from MH issues, doesn't work and won't engage with MH services'. If people are to get sickness benefits there's a responsibility on them to engage with any help offered. I don't think there is enough help currently but if Labour's proposal does work and people are offered help I think it's mandatory for sickness benefit claimants to take up that assistance. Failure to engage would mean withdrawal of benefits

It's great they want to encourage people into work. Are they providing any advice and support to employers as to what disabled and chronically sick employees need? Have they actually spoken to employers to find out if they have jobs that are suitable for disabled people and the chronically sick? Have they discussed with employers whether they will employ the disabled and chronically sick if a healthy person also applies?

Of course they haven't.

If people won't employ them, how are the disabled and chronically sick going to find work? Because I suspect my wheelchair using, autistic DC's CV is going to be first in the bin when they apply for a job, despite their good degree, excellent work ethic, and general intelligence.

They haven't announced actual cuts yet. There will be a green paper in the spring. The public will be able to respond and I urge everyone who can to do so.

Alot of people will probably want to kill themselves tbh.

I don't say that lightly. But you aren't allowed to talk about that because people get upset. And then when so many people try but mess it up ( because it isn't easy to do) they'll be further demonised.

How pathetic that a Labour government has decided to be as tone deaf and hateful as the Tories when it comes to disabilities...

• PIP is not an unemployment benefit, many people with long term health conditions or/and disabilities work and receive PIP (myself included) to help them with the extra cost of their disability.

• Where are the jobs for disabled people going to come from? Unless the government makes it easier for disabled people to access WFH roles and make sure employers understand better what support disabled people might need and are encouraged to recruit disabled people, nothing will change. I have gaps on my CV due to times where I had to stop working for a few months to have surgery or recover from my latest burnout. That can definitely be an issue when applying for jobs. I have been treated appallingly by some employers when I disclosed my health issues or when I had a flare-up and needed some time off. I don't think my experience is unique...so there are many barriers in the workplace for people like me that still need to be address

• Mental health issues can affect people's daily lives as badly as physical ones. What are Labour suggesting? that mental health issues don't exist? that they have find the cure for everyone's mental health issues? It is pathetic that in 2025 there is still so much ignorance when it comes to mental health and personality disorders

• PIP fraud according to the DWP is zero...so why the need for reform?

• Ultimately what does the government want disabled people to do? curl up in a corner out of sight and die so they can save some cash and please a few right wing newspapers?

Frankly I am disgusted by what this country is becoming.

@Fluffyholeysocks a huge issue with MH provision is the dearth of specialised support for young people which leads to entrenched issues in adulthood.

A MH practitioner in a GP surgery will be hard pressed to do alot if they can't refer to and access specialist support. We need wrap around services and therapy to be accessible. We need access to specialists who understands and can assess for Neurodivergent conditions. We need so much more than a practitioner will ever be able to offer. What tangible support can they give beyond a prescription for ADs. ( And they definitely have a place).

It feels like smoke and mirrors again.

Wouldn’t she have to be diagnosed?

But because he has an EHCP, presumably you're getting the therapies he needs, without using the DLA to pay for it.

I am currently in the process of applying (appealing refusal to assess at the moment), DC is currently not able to access full-time education.

DLA doesn't go far when you have to pay for therapies yourself, in addition to everything else. We're paying out for play therapy; DC also really needs OT and SALT. If our appeal does get overturned, we will likely also need additional private assessments.

I don’t know if I can get done for saying this but I get the sense that they want people to be poor and ill forever

No sympathy what so ever for those who voted Labour. They’ve been very vocal on this. Quick in with populist policies so you can ‘sock it to the rich.’ Problem is you need people paying taxes to fund a huge state. Non doms pulling their money out, companies making huge redundancies and pulling job listings. The budget did a cracking job. When the private sector is no longer bankrolling the state then welfare and public sector jobs have to go. You need people paying tax and working. Not taxing people and business so much it reduces income.

People were so blinded by envy and wanting to take from those people they perceive as having more - with no effort. People thought Labour would throw money at welfare because not Tory. People didn’t think it through and that’s on them. Net contributors have picked their ball up and taken it home.

I don't think Labour will be less harsh on disabilities. By ruling out any tax increases they have boxed themselves into a corner and the only way out is to cut spending.

Yeah sure. I read so much guff on here sometimes.

We had power cuts and half the country on strike.

They extended PIP too far. Now they are clawing it back and many deserving people will be affected.

Exactly. @Hwi claims the NHS is testing her urine to try to make sure she takes her medication. Which proves she has a diagnosis.

Neurological conditions are not really fakeable. They are determined by tests. Often using brain scans, EEGs etc.

I think children's DLA needs to have far stricter criteria so only the most disabled receive it.

I'd prefer to see the 22 billion going on net zero policies going towards MH services. As I've said before, 850,000 young people not in education, employment or training is unforgiveable.

Yes and if in doubt look at the pp below from someone who will be made redundant from their flexible and short hour job

Presumably helping with mh, money and spending

People are so bad at economics and want to sock it to people including businesses. That pp feels like they had a gold dust job, because they did. And then Labour did a woeful budget and it's gone.

Nearly all the more naive posts begin with ' I have a friend ' ' I know a lady " and that's used to form a viewpoint about benefit fraud.

If we are able to access reliable stats, how much does genuine benefit fraud suck out of the system; particularly for those who are faking being sick and disabled. What proportion can work but need adjustments to help them or access to support to help them? We don't have reliable stats on that but we know a huge proportion could with help they can't bloody access. What proportion are ' the lady I know who blags the system '. How does that compare to other abuse of the system by the wealthy?

I'm not saying it should be ignored. However, how does it equate to the other losses? Why aren't people so upset about this?

Why doesn't anyone talk about the Royal Family bell ends? ( I accept I'm now obsessed with this, sorry 🤦🤣).

@Tittat50 I do not think it is fraud. But 1 in 16 children getting disability benefits is not sustainable

My granddaughter has been refused dla for 2 years in a row as she is too young, nevermind the extra costs her condition has, for example, shoes to fit over her orthotic boot, getting to and from the numerous different hospitals im our health board as she is under physiotherapy, trauma&orthopedics, her main consultant and orthotics. The scans and eeg's she had to have to be diagnosed in the first place. The dwp are saying all children her age(3) need care, which is true, but she is still in nappies, has sleep disturbances and behavioural issues as well as the physical side of things. Yet there is no financial or other support for her or my daughter caring for her!