Benefit cuts will cost the economy.

[MistressoftheDarkSide]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/29/labours-benefit-cuts-will-cost-uk-economy-billions-charity-says

Interesting article which repeats what some of us have been saying about the likely consequences of the proposed measures, including increased pressure on services.

The cost of a disability is not always much higher. My deaf friend says her only extra cost is hearing aid batteries. She got any other equipment for free.

Yes do.

I worked for several years in charity comms. So I’ve seen plenty of case studies and I’ve conducted the interviews for those case studies, but I’m a couple of years out of the sector. I would love to see a summary of the actual stats, or extracts thereof,

No of course its not always much higher. If your friend is deaf and has no other disabilities, its pretty unlikely she's been awarded LCWRA as being deaf wouldn't prevent her from finding work. PIP may be awarded but I presume at a low rate.

Scope's last study found the cost was ON AVERAGE £1000/month. This means some people will have significantly lower costs and some significantly higher.

Of course it’s possible.

I just used the ‘Entitled To’ calculator.

A family with 2 non working parents, where 1 is a carer and 1 on PIP, with 2 kids claiming DLA, is entitled to £40,000 in benefits per year.

£2300 UC
£360 carers
£145 council tax support
£262 child benefit
£4000 PIP

In the handful of families I mentioned above, there is a bit more at play (such as 3 DC on DLA, or both parents receiving PIP, or 1 parent caring for the other). So that would in theory be more.

Do you dispute the figures above?

Btw for the sake of error I selected low rate for all the benefits - the high rate would probably nudge them over 50k, another lot of DLA would.

If that’s true, deafness is much more affordable than a mobility impairment. Unfortunately, you don’t get to pick your disability. It’s not a shopping situation.

That's not the case for everyone, though.

Plus, there are the hidden costs, such as being passed over for promotion/opportunities because of your disability, and/or having certain fields or jobs unavailable to you because of your disability.

PIP is supposed to go some way towards levelling the playing field.

Well good for her? I pay for care. I have higher bills due to my disabilities. I've had to take out an interest free loan to buy an aid just so I can read. My transport costs are higher because I can't drive. If I want to go somewhere I need an adult with me.

I have a friend whose DD had a rare syndrome. Amongst other things, she's unable to speak. She put something in the newspaper to help fundraise to get her DD the device she needs

The only free equipment I've had doesn't help me at all. Only the expensive equipment that NHS doesn't supply helps

Nobody is entitled to a promotion or whatever work they want anyway. Far from it, actually. These are not human rights.

Dispute them?! They’re absolutely wild. Are they supposed to be weekly or annual? They’re not possible monthly and they’re meagre if they’re annual.

£4000 PIP? Which elements?

If a family has 1 adult and 2 children on High rate care and mobility for both PIP and DLA, I'd say £40k isn't enough. They'll be facing significant daily challenges. And the cost of professional carers would far outweigh the cost of carers allowance the other adult is getting

The absolute maximum amount of PIP payable monthly for one individual, for context, is approx £750 a month, and that is a rare award with highest mobility and highest daily living.

Ok. So given we have the equivalent of the population of Scotland on these benefits, and they’re rising every year by £10 billion, how do you propose to support that raise? And convinced somebody earning half that amount in a soul destroying job living in a mouldy flat that they should pay for it?

She didn’t say they were human rights. She was talking about costs and opportunity costs.

Yes which is why I used lower rate for everything. This is the minimum award.

According to the government the majority of claims for pip are for non physical disabilities. What “equipment” do you claim these people need?

"Disabled people, get a job"

"I keep getting knocked back from jobs I can do with my condition in favour of non-disabled applicants"

"Nobody is entitled to whatever work they want".

Make it make sense 🙃

You won’t like this answer, but you can’t. Making the application criteria more stringent, cutting benefits or strengthening the sanctions regime only impacts the vulnerable.

More work needs to be done on the hidden economy (activities/jobs hidden from HMRC) and harsher punishments for employers who collude to defraud the state. Get more money coming - something the government set to be actively avoiding, instead targeting some of the most vulnerable because that’s a quick and easy win.

Much more investment is needed in supporting people into work, both for the individual and employers. I believe employers can (and should be required to) do more.

@Kindersurprisingi can’t tell if you’re somehow just mistaken, or if the benefit calculator is wildly malfunctioning.

Would you mind terribly posting screenshots of the calculation you did? Then we could unpick the misunderstanding.

All you need to do is go to the Entitled To calendar and enter the scenario I did. I’ve closed the window now, but if you do the same and get a different amount, do let me know.

It’s not. Thats so wrong it’s funny. Those figures are far outside the maximum.

How do we afford to pay for this? Cut the NHS? Education?

We can’t be a country of 40% unemployment propped up by a few highly taxed billionaires, no matter how much everyone seems to see this as the answer. Even recovering hidden tax and ending nondoms isn’t enough to fund the benefits mess. All low hanging fruit has been picked.

49% of UC claimants are working. Why isn't anything being done about that? O am aware that part of the issue is the amount of rent people pay.

My son is getting DLA, and I am getting carers allowance for looking after him. I work part time as well, I wish I could work full time, but I can’t get child care for him