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?

What will the situation with carers allowance be as you have no work requirement if for example looking after your disabled dc - will UC basic rate be cut for these people too who are essentially already doing a full time job for £81 a week but on UC have ‘no work commitments’?

It's a bit confusing, from what I am reading, but it seems as though they intend to cut the LCWRA element of UC. So, adults that are deemed too disabled/ill to work, regardless of the extent of their disability, will have this element either reduced or cut. Potentially a loss of £400 plus per month.

If you don't have the LCWRA element on your UC claim, then you are likely to remain unaffected. I think it will more hit single disabled people, and those who are carers for a spouse/adult child.

Some communities game the system and support one another in doing so. Genuine people who need support therefore have to suffer. That’s this country’s idea of fairness and justice 🤷‍♀️

They need to protect the most severely unwell whilst addressing the huge numbers stuck on LCW/ LCWRA who could work but likely never will. In my job I just see large numbers of usually middle aged men that haven't worked in years, they've drifted around and end up on LCW which often means very infrequent appointments with work coaches who don't really know what to do with them. Often mild addictions etc. Even if they do find work they get generous work allowances meaning any bits of part time work or sporadic work they do get doesn't affect their benefits as the first £400 or £600 odd is disregarded completely. They barely get re-assessed just drift along waiting to get to pension age. These people are never going to secure decent employment where they actually make a net contribution to tax revenues. I personally think the government are deluded if they realistically think there is any chance of getting them into work. Maybe they are just planning on focusing on the younger ones .I don't think they will take away LCWRA for the most disabled it would be thoroughly unjust. I work in benefits and honestly it's just thoroughly depressing because you see all these quite severely people struggling when they should be helped more and then on the other hand this massive group and you just wonder how on earth they qualify for these benefits for years on end.

I was concerned it might just hit all those in the ‘no work commitments group’ . I don’t think there should be any cuts at all though to be clear I think the focus needed to be on healthcare to improve things so people can get back to work if possible not cutting their money. I can’t imagine how if for example suddenly over the next month suddenly there was a 50% daily increase with older people being diagnosed with cancer that they’d think to cut pension credit before seeing what the nhs could do !

I don't see how they could just cut money for those in the LCWRA group. They may make the criteria harder, they were talking about removing the mobility and severe risk descriptors which could mean many more people won't qualify for LCWRA. I guess we will have to wait for the green paper.

I think you probably mean tax those individuals who dodge tax and companies that pay very little. The “rich” get taxed 50% and have their non tax amount removed (those making over £150k). How much more tax would you like those people to pay?

I don't see how they could just cut money for those in the LCWRA group

and yet, that very clearly seems to be the plan.

What is LCWA? My dd has enhanced PIP and was called in for a UC assessment where upon they decided she shouldn’t be going in and looking for work every week. She is mentally very unwell, autistic with several diagnoses however she is working very hard at her MH with services. She fully intends to have a career and go back into education but it needs to be at her pace. What does all this mean? We’ve never been on any other benefits and because she’s over 18 we have no input. I honestly don’t understand any of it. If she is forced into work that isn’t right for her I’m seriously worried she’ll end up attempting to take her own life again.

LCWRA is the group that people are put in when the dwp assessment has decided that they are not fit for any kind of work. They get £414 extra Uc per month when awarded this element which is what the government seem to want to reduce. Two thirds of people having a work capability assessment are awarded this. People like your daughter honestly will not be forced into work.

But she’ll lose the money?

Doesn’t it replace wages she’d be earning alongside UC if she could work?

LCWRA is ESA? So PIP might not be affected except for new applicants?

Bit worried about my cousin (PIP), the government should have worked out what they're going to do before making vague announcements.

@Miley1967 that is exactly what they are planning - this person's daughter will loose the £400 per month. That's why so many of us are worried sick.

I would love to know if the government has done any impact assessments on what this will mean. There will be many families who care for adults for whom this money allows them to care for their adult children. If only a tiny percentage of those families say - I can't care anymore, I have to go and get a job to make ends meet and then hand over care to the LA. Can you imagine how much this would cost? Hundreds of thousands per person over their lifetime. Not to mention social care being overwelmed.

I also don't think targeting disabled people like this would stand up to a court challenge.

Drip feeding this into the media though is awful and causing untold worry.

So they will just reduce the UC for all ‘too sick to work’ I assume because individual reassessments would cost too much? So they cast the net wide to catch the few who might be able to work but catch so many others who can’t and will just be punished because they want immediate results regardless of the human cost

PIP rates I think will still be frozen immediately for current claimants

No, perhaps the disabled person won't be 'forced back into work'. Their carers will however be forced to quit their caring and return to work. Leaving their disabled spouses/adult children. Having to fight their local councils for funding for extra care. For more than 4 visits a day. For residential care.

@Mozzarellapanini yes that is what has been leaked to the press.

Seems that way. Despite the fact that it will end up costing far more when carers can no longer provide care and have to seek funding from local councils, costing ££££ per week.

@TheWorminLabyrinth exactly - have they done an impact assessment on this - will any small savings be eaten up by carers just not being able to do it anymore. One adult in permanent social care costs thousands per month.

Labour don't do impact assessments on anything, they don't believe they should. Look at any single 1 of their policies since coming in and you will see the pattern. Problem is most people were happy for that when it impacted "others" eg farmers/VAT on independent schools etc and were happy to think that Labour wouldnt go after themselves.

No government of any colour has ever done impact assessments.

How are we supposed to live on £400 less a month? I'm scraping by as it is. My husband can't change job because nowhere else would offer him the flexibility to be my carer. My only option is to apply for any job going and wait until I'm sacked for absences, rinse and repeat. Destroy my CV and references in the process.

I've got stage 4 (incurable) cancer as a 44 year old mum of young children. The prospect of cuts to or stoppage of my already meagre benefits is terrifying. PIP is already notoriously hard to claim; I know many women with the same illness and resulting difficulties as me who've been refused it. Thousands of very sick and severely disabled people will be harmed by this, just to stop a tiny minority of fraudulent claims.

Instead of penalising the genuinely in need, they should be addressing:

1. Why so many working age people are getting cancer and other life limiting illnesses, and serious mental health problems
2. Generationally unemployed families.

The increase in numbers claiming benefits is a problem. Whilst there are many who can't work or can only work for a small number of hours there is abuse of the system and unless the govt acts the burden is too much. There is a finite amount of money in the system and if it is spent on benefits it can't be spent elsewhere.

In my view the system needs to be reviewed as too many people are taking advantage. Anecdotal evidence I have seen is where families and individuals are on benefits with children at school subsidised on foreign trips whilst working families can't afford them. Same families having a lifestyle that is higher than those who are working. People using the local foodbank who have all the latest gadgets and also lead a lifestyle similar to those working.
I used to give to a local foodbank but do not now as I feel it's abused and in my view the same is true for the benefits system.