The Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC) is a national coalition of over 70 different charities and other organisations committed to working towards a fair benefits system.
Disability Rights UK is a member of the DBC and has signed this letter.
Original post on the DBC website
Ahead of today’s debate in the House of Commons on cuts to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit, over 70 members of the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC) have signed an open letter (below) to the Government, warning of the devastating effects the cuts would have on people with a disability and urging MPs to take this debate as an opportunity to re-assess the cuts.
“Dear Secretary of State for Work and Pensions,
“With today’s debate MPs have been given a rare second chance to speak out against £30 a week being taken away from sick and disabled people. The £30-a-week cut to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit has caused deep unease amongst MPs from all parties. We believe this cut will undermine the Government’s welcome commitment to halve the disability employment gap set out in the Green Paper published just last month.
“The Government recently committed to protecting disabled people’s benefits from further cuts, but have decided to continue with this damaging cut to new claimants in the Work-Related Activity Group (WRAG) of ESA and within Universal Credit (UC). From April 2017 this cut will affect many people found currently ‘unfit for work’ but will also affect many disabled people in work and on low wages under UC.
“The Government promised further support would be given to disabled people in the WRAG to find work, however the recent Green Paper offers little detail as to where this would come from or how it will mitigate the effects of the cut.
“Almost 70% of sick and disabled people we surveyed say this cut would cause their health to suffer and just under half said they would probably not be able to return to work as quickly. We urge MPs from all parties to act – at a time when 1 in 3 households with a disabled member are living in poverty – and halt this cut immediately.”
Signed:
- Action for Blind People
- Action Duchenne
- Action for M.E.
- Action on Hearing Loss
- Advice UK
- Advocard
- Age UK
- Ambitious about Autism
- Arthritis Care
- Arthritis Research UK
- Aspire
- British Lung Foundation
- Capability Scotland
- Carers UK
- Child Poverty Action Group
- Citizens Advice
- CLIC Sargent
- Contact a Family
- Council for Disabled Children
- Crohn’s and Colitis UK
- Cystic Fibrosis Trust
- Deafblind UK
- Dimensions UK
- Disability Agenda Scotland
- Disability Rights UK
- Down’s Syndrome Association
- ENABLE Scotland
- Epilepsy Society
- Epilepsy Action
- Equalities National Council
- Guide Dogs
- Haemophilia Society
- Hafal
- Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE)
- Inclusion London
- LASA
- Leonard Cheshire Disability
- Livability
- Mind
- Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association
- MS Society
- Muscular Dystrophy UK
- Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) Trust
- Myeloma UK
- National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society
- National AIDS Trust
- National Autistic Society (NAS)
- National Children’s Bureau
- National Deaf Children’s Society
- National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society
- Niamh
- Papworth Trust
- Parkinson’s UK
- Rethink Mental Illness
- Royal British Legion
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Royal Mencap Society
- Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
- RSI Action
- Scope
- Scottish Association for Mental Health
- Spina bifida Hydrocephalus Information Networking Equality (SHINE)
- Sense
- Sense Scotland
- St Joseph’s Hospice
- The Stroke Association
- Sue Ryder
- Terrence Higgins Trust
- Thomas Pocklington Trust
- Together For Short Lives
- Transport for All
- TUC
- Vitalise
- Zacchaeus 2000 Trust
About the letter
The cuts to the Work-Related Activity Group (WRAG) of ESA and the equivalent in Universal Credit will undermine the Government’s commitment to halving the disability employment gap, which was outlined in the recent Green Paper on Work and Health.
The Government has however suggested that people with disabilities and long-term health conditions who get this benefit are not being incentivised to find work because of the £30-a-week more they get compared to those on Job Seeker’s Allowance.
However, the DBC strongly disputes this claim and a survey of over 500 disabled people found this to be completely false:
Almost 7 in 10 (69%) say cuts to ESA will cause their health to suffer
More than a quarter (28%) say they sometimes can’t afford to eat on the current amount they receive from ESA
Almost half (45%) of respondents say that the cut would probably mean they would return to work later
Just 1% said the cut would motivate them to get a job sooner
Disabled campaigners were in Parliament on yesterday meeting their MPs to raise concerns. Pictures of this can be found on twitter under #esacuts as will commentary on today’s debate.