We heard a lot last week about balancing the budget and the need to reduce the deficit, with each of the main parties having slightly different strategies to achieve this, all of which involve cuts to welfare.
The government has announced its intention to reduce the welfare bill by 12bn but will not give details of how this is to be achieved until after the general election, the largest portion of spend is on pensioner benefits which the government has ringfenced, so therefore the 12bn reduction will come off benefits for working age people.
The easiest target here is disability benefits, the dreaded “ATOS” has been replaced by “Maximus” but I’m not sure this change will improve anything, (just google maximus complaints and you can make your own decision). 74.8% of learning disabled adults are deemed capable of living with family carers or with some degree of independance but only 5.8% have paid employment, Maximus are being paid £595m over the next three years to carry out fitness for work assessments on disabled people, I can start to see where that £12bn is going to come from. I’m sure everyone has heard of cases where learning disabled adults have been found fit for work and had their disability benefits cut and then been sanctioned by DWP for not complying with the requirement to spend 35hrs a week looking for work. The outcomes in some of these cases have been fatal as people are left absolutely destitute, I know my own children would not meet the JSA requirements and I’m dreading them getting older.
There has to be another way and guess what, surprise surprise there is! At the end of 2013 the amount of tax underpaid by wealthy individuals and corporations was £35bn! If those at the top paid what they owe there would be no need for cuts. It is a simple solution, I can’t understand why the most vulnerable are bearing the brunt while those at the top are allowed to get away with what at worst are serious criminal offences and at best is morally reprehensible.
I’ll vote for whoever will redress the balance, but at the moment I’m still looking.