To be confused by benefits cuts to the disabled and ill?

[AllyHayHay]

As luck would have it, I have not been in this position, but I do know of one disabled lady who has struggled. She was incredibly fortunate to already own her own home prior to her accident.

I am not what you'd call politically astute, but I have been reading about the proposed spring benefits cuts and wonder why people always discuss this ONLY affecting the sick and disabled.
I am also aware that there are many, many rough areas with families who have never worked, people who are struggling with addiction, prison sentences (their kids, spouse, etc) and these people never seem to be included in the Guardian articles and opinion pieces online.

Why would a system wish to make the life of a disabled person worse, yet ignore the growing issues of illiteracy, generational poverty and other issues which are going on in most urban areas just out of sight of the comfortably off?
Why not address the reasons that great swathes of people are living on benefits across the UK who are NOT disabled? I imagine this would drag up questions of why those issues persist - and no one in government wants to address that.

Since benefits claimants who are not in work of on the pension are a minority, are these cuts more of a populist tendency?

Let me help you out in the education side: because SEND provisional is absolutely abysmal and local authorities are denying thousands of teen young people and education. If a child cannot access an education, it makes it a lot harder to get qualifications and find work. HTH. Maybe read up on the SEND crisis....

It isn't catastrophising. If the changes are as reported, then even those with the most severe disabilities are going to lose money and that absolutely will plunge disabled people into poverty.

@RaininSummer You need to read the reports. If true, they will remove UC from those not deemed capable to work. It will predominantly affect those who have severe disabilities and will never be able to work. In what world is ok? How do you envisage this people will cope financially considering that many are already hugely struggling financially?

For my part, I will not be able to look after DC1 long term. I will shift the responsibility to social care and demand a care home which will cost a few thousand per week. I guess many other families will be forced to do the same. It's gonna cost a lot more than keeping benefits for this who cannot work at the current level and enable them to carry on living at home which comes at a fraction of the cost.

Exactly. It seems so utterly ridiculous. As you say, the changes are going to force people to stop being carers and return to work. The care packages that will need to then be put in place for the disabled person will cost far more. Astronomically more I would suggest.

Absolutely.

Dd is bed bound and non verbal, there is no way I can leave her unsupervised for hours, but if the rumours are true I will have no choice.

I used to work in care and saw (and reported) some horrific treatment if disabled people, so I wanted to look after dd myself, no matter the loss of finances.

It will cost the state tens of thousands for her care of I can no longer provide it.

It's horrifying, isn't it. As though things aren't difficult enough, here is a fat plate of poverty with a side order of constant worry about handing over the complex care of your loved one to a stranger.

I'm mentally perfectly able, which is no criticism of those who aren't. I could work, would love to. But physically unable, especially with increasing 'back to work' mandates. I don't know what to do. People don't want to employ disabled people. That's the reality and it's a bitter pill to swallow.

The tories or libdems would have had to tackle it too! The costs are getting way out of control and the status quo is simply not an option. The only differences would be "how" whichever government reduced the overall benefit bill and some groups of people would be hard hit however they do it.

We need more tax revenue, less public spending, more people in work. There's no single way to fix the enormous (and ever increasing debt/deficit) - it's too big for tweaking around the edges. Public sector spending has to fall and that WILL impact some PS workers, the NHS, state pensions, unemployment and disability benefits, just as it will impact taxpayers (individual and businesses) and more people will have to work, whether they're young NEETS, carers/parents, hopeful early retirees, etc.

We simply can't have fewer people working and ever increasing public sector/benefit costs. The sums just don't add up.

who do you think will look after the disabled person whilst the carer goes to work. Carers are desperate to work but cannot as there is no social care available to look after the disabled person in the meantime? Have you ever cared around the clock for someone seriously disabled? Or are you just taking our of your arse? Besides, to claim carers allowance you need to care for a minimum of 35h per week. In reality, most do a lot more of caring. Is that not 'work' enough (even though pay is just a tiny fraction of NMW)?

Yes I have, I cared for my mother with advanced dementia who basically lost the ability to do anything for herself and we got no help from anywhere, it was me and my sister, and we both worked, and yes it was very hard.

I know it's hard on an individual level.

But I'm talking about societal level. Where do you find the money and people to provide care if no one wants to work?

We desperately need the benefits/support to be better targeted at those who need it the most.

We desperately need to grow the economy to improve the nation's finances, tax revenues, etc.

None of this is easy, there are no easy answers, but we simply can't continue kicking the can down the road or the country WILL end up bankrupt and then everyone will suffer even more!

So who looked after your DM whilst you worked. Presumably, there was someone there and you didn't leave her all say alone?? You realise not everyone has this type of support. Just because you had people to share the load with, it doesn't mean mean everyone has. Also, many care for partners or children not elderly parents where the issue is usually time limited. My child (going well) will outlive me. I will never be able to stop caring and have a lift. Many others are in a similar boat. It's a very different scenario to those who care for someone elderly at the end of life.

As a pp pointed out, who will be looking after the people who need it, if their careers are forced out to work, because of benefit cuts? It will end up costing the Country more, if people feel the only other option is to hand over responsibility, of their loved ones to the State.

Exactly, how awful was your case, I’m sorry you endeavoured idiots

@junnney That’s all the more reason to look into it though. One million young people not in work or training is a huge percentage of the total and doesn’t bode well for their futures. How will they manage when the older generations ( parents of teens like me) aren’t around anymore or unable to help them?

There have been numerous reforms to the SEND system but the system needs proper funding. No government wants to do that. So nothing will change. a huge part of this problem is home made by central government. they are looking into it but 'looking into' it won't change anything.

@junnney It sounds as if you have personal experience of the lack of provision, I’m assuming for your child. If so, I’m genuinely sorry. 💐 It just worries me that so many people aren’t in work or training, because the future will be tough for them.

Dare they fuck around with my PIP!
I'm on the bones of my arse here, dealing with two separate cancer diagnosis, on chemo and off sick. I will need my PIP more than ever going forward.

"As luck would have it"

Well OP, you are lucky then, aren't you? I'm fucking fuming and bitter.

Increase taxation on the rich? You have children? How might you feel if they said "no child benefit". And - cards on the table - that was something you chose. I'm not proposing that, as I'm not an arse, but how might you feel? If you think people go on disability benefit as the BETTER option, you're a self absorbed fool, burying your head into the sand as to what's really happening.

The people burying their heads in the sand are the ones who think the status quo is in any way sustainable. Major changes are needed in lots of areas and no single area should be immune from challenge/consideration. We, as a country, have been sleepwalking to the impending disaster for a few decades and politicians have been kicking the can into the long grass. Now things are getting to end game and we need to actually make fundamental changes, however unpopular they are. That WILL involve some tax rises, some benefit cuts, some public sector cost cutting. There are no alternatives.

RR has got £20bn or so by crippling businesses with the NIC rise. She can't do that next year to fill next year's "gap". Nor the year after, nor the year after. The gap/deficit is getting worse and if all she does is increase taxes, she'll run out of people she can tax more!

The gap/deficit is getting worse and if all she does is increase taxes, she'll run out of people she can tax more!

This is the nub of the issue - the number of people claiming benefits is increasing at a faster rate than the number of people working, paying taxes & not claiming any top ups. And with the scary statistics on the number of young people not in employment or training, that will only get worse as Gen X heads towards retirement, even if we do all work to 67. Change is essential, the issue is how it should be done, not whether it is necessary.

I agree. We may have say a million NEETS at the moment, but in another decade, we'll have another million of new NEETS and unless the existing NEETS have got jobs, then we'll have two million of them, and then three million, then four million, etc.

Add that to the "bulge" of middle aged people getting older and claiming benefits such as state pension, needing more health care, etc

We need to do EVERYTHING we can to get people into work and back into work, and part timers to work more, and yes, that means hard decisions and a lot of stick as well as carrot.

The projections are frightening

@Badbadbunny That's exactly what I was trying to say. When Gen X's like me retire in a couple of decades, we won't be able to provide for the next generation anymore. What's going to happen if they can't provide for themselves or support/care for the people who will need lifelong support?

I love the way you have written this post. It makes it so clear that you don't think public sector workers are tax payers.

Sorry, that was aimed at the post the quoted post was responding to, so @BadBadBunny's post.

You didn't answer my questions.

What are you talking about? I certainly do. How did you infer that?

Saw your amendment!