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Thousands campaign to highlight disabled people ‘hardest hit’ by cuts agenda

11 May 2011

Today’s Hardest Hit action against savage cuts to support has attracted thousands of disabled people, their families and representatives to a rally and lobby in Westminster. Campaigners are seeking closer Government scrutiny of plans that risk cutting essential support from benefits, care services and beyond. Disabled people are disproportionately affected by almost all public service cuts – and a third of UK disabled citizens already live in poverty.

Government reaction

In responding to the Hardest Hit rally, the Minister for Disabled People, Maria Miller MP, has suggested there are more people with drug and alcohol problems receiving high rate DLA than Blind people. But DWP figures for November 2009 show that: 22,200 with ‘drug and alcohol abuse’ problems receive DLA but 69,000 Blind people (see: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/foi-dla-recipients-2010.pdf for further data).

 Disability Alliance Director of Policy, Neil Coyle, says:

“The inference that Government plans will only affect potential misuse of DLA ignores the facts. Even if all 22,200 people receiving DLA resulting from drug/alcohol misuse (even those with significant health problems) were cut from the system, the Government would still need to axe well over £2 billion from other DLA recipients to reach its target (of over £2.17 billion DLA cuts). Low rate DLA care payments are to be completely abolished under Government plans and the 650,000 disabled people receiving this support also need their concerns and anxiety addressed by the Minister who failed to attend the Hardest Hit rally sadly”.

“Instead of addressing the core concerns of today’s lobby – which is that disabled people are the hardest hit by the full cuts agenda – the Government reaction has stunned disabled people. The consequences of the national cuts will be avoidable deaths, destitution and additional demand for other government support, especially from the NHS, if DWP continues to fail to analyse proposals accurately. The misleading statistics from the Minister today are deeply offensive to the vast majority of disabled people who face losing very basic support.”

 Government plans of particular concern to Hardest Hit:

• Over 400,000 disabled people to lose all out of work support through time-limiting Employment and Support Allowance to one year. Only 13% of disabled people supported by Pathways to Work entered work within a year – leaving nine in ten disabled people at risk of losing all support.
• 80,000 disabled care home residents to lose mobility support. The Government has publically announced a ‘review’ of this policy but the Welfare Reform Bill will prevent disabled people living in care homes accessing support under Government changes and DWP have confirmed their will be no public or parliamentary scrutiny of the review.
• Abolition of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and introduction of ‘Personal Independence Payments’ (PIP) will affect over 750,000 disabled people. The Government pledged to cut 20% of expenditure – but the policy affects working age disabled people only, resulting in closer to 30% of the support for this group being cut to meet the unexplained DWP target. This will cause significant financial hardship for disabled people across the UK – especially the 650,000 disabled people receiving low rate DLA care payments (£19.55 per week) which will be abolished under the PIP.
• Government cuts to council funds are causing restricted access to basic care service support at local level. Over 80% of councils in England will only support disabled people with critical or substantial needs by the end of this financial year – and others are already doubling fees for essential support.

Picture report

More information

• more about the hardest hit campaign
• the hardest hit website

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