DWP to screw over Universal Credit claimants

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) propaganda machine is working at top speed again. This time by making cuts to benefits sound like it’s for disabled people’s own good. The DWP released a shiny new press release bragging about how they plan to reform welfare to “support people into work”.

DWP cutting UC health element by over £200

This is, of course, the Universal Credit Bill, which comes into effect in April. The final amendments for which were laid out in parliament yesterday (Monday 9 February). I know what you’re thinking, since when were amendments newsworthy? Well, since the DWP realised they needed to generate as much good press around these abhorrent cuts as possible.

What the press release does finally confirm is just how much the DWP will be fucking over new disabled Universal Credit (UC) claimants. And it’s by over £200 a month. The department proudly gushed that they will be introducing a lower rate of the health element for new claimants. This means that instead of £429.80 a month, new claimants will get just £217.26. That’s a loss of £212.54 a month and £2550.48 a year.

Don’t worry, though, standard allowance is going up too and it’s higher than inflation for the first time ever! Aren’t the government good to us?! For under 25 year olds it’ll go up by a whole £21.60 a month or £259.20 a year. For over 25s it’ll be going up by a whopping £24.76 a month or £297.12 a year. So you’ll only need to make up an extra £2291.28 or £2253.36 a year.

Painting cuts as a good thing and benefit claimants as fakers

Even more cruelly, the DWP is selling this cut as a good thing that will help disabled people.

The press release said:

The system inherited from the previous Government means people receiving Universal Credit for health reasons are paid more than twice as much as a single person looking for work and aren’t given the support to move closer to – or into – jobs.

A reminder that disabled claimants get double what a non disabled claimant does is because the DWP have already judged them unfit for work. They know that these people can’t find a job without it being detrimental to their health.

The DWP continued:

The reforms – coming into force in April – will tackle these perverse incentives by introducing a lower Universal Credit health element

Because nothing incentivises you like the prospect of starvation and homelessness, does it?

The deserving and undeserving disabled

The government also didn’t pass up an opportunity to paint a clear divide between the fakers and the real disabled people. They assured the public that people with the “most severe, lifelong conditions” would still receive the higher rate. Though when they get to decide who fits that criteria, it’s obvious that many will suffer. This rate also applies to those with a terminal illness and current claimants.

By not including current claimants, the government clearly hopes disabled people will keep quiet and play nice. This shows just how selfish and vile they are if they expect the community to turn its back on newly disabled people to save our own skins. That sounds much more like politician behaviour.

DWP chief Pat McFadden said:

The benefits system we inherited was rigged with the wrong incentives and wrote people off instead of backing them. We are changing this.

It’s absolutely vile that the government are still pushing this narrative that disabled people choose not to work because it pays better. When it’s clear to see that many find work inaccessible in a system that cares more about profits than people.

He continued:

These reforms put more money in the pockets of working people on Universal Credit, while ensuring those who can work get the support they need to do so.

This is such a fucking lie, it’s insulting. McFadden knows full well that the health element means people are too sick or disabled to work. So to say the DWP wants to support those who can work is implying they’re faking it.

Overwhelming evidence that the DWP isn’t fit for purpose

To try and make it look like they care, the DWP refers once again to all their bullshit plans to push disabled people back into work. This is despite the overwhelming evidence that the department is a complete farce.

Recently, the DWP was crowing about the rollout of WorkWell, which sells work as a cure for disability. This is despite there being no proof of it actually working at all, never mind well. There’s also the fact the Public Accounts Committee absolutely ripped the DWP a new one over their ability to support people into work.

The PAC also drew attention to the fact that the DWP doesn’t publish data on work coach numbers. So while the DWP brags that 100,000 advisors will be redeployed in Pathways to Work, we don’t actually know how many there are. And if they’re planning on putting them in GP offices and moving them onto the skills brief we really need to know how many there are to go around.

The DWP doesn’t give a fuck about disabled people

What is clear, despite the DWP saying otherwise, is that they couldn’t give a fuck about disabled people.

If they actually wanted to support those of us who could work, there’d be proper detailed plans. Not just passing disabled people around work coaches. They also wouldn’t be quietly cutting Access to Work whilst spaffing on about wanting to help us. If they actually cared about people who were out of work because of disability they’d be ensuring we could live our lives without fear.

More than anything, if the DWP actually cared about disabled benefits claimants, they wouldn’t be doing everything in their power to demonise us in the press. But then if all of this was true they wouldn’t need to use the press to further their agenda by bragging about fucking amendments.

Featured image via the Canary