Member-only story
Disabled or fit for work?
Where do you draw the line?
The UK government has published a Welfare Reform Green Paper (a consultation document to enable people to give feedback on the department’s legislative proposals). It outlines proposed changes to welfare support for disabled people.
This has aroused some controversy as a charter to ‘persuade’ more disabled people into work.
This is coupled with allegations and assumptions that some claimants are actually fit for work and are just gaming the system. (Nobody wants to be disabled, and nobody wants to sit at home all day). The main driver to this action is the rising cost of benefits paid out to physically and mentally disabled people.
The welfare bill is on course to top £100 billion ($130 billion) by 2030, with the UK having the highest reported rates of ill health among working age people.
These are mainly related to long-covid and the cost-of-living crisis. If all the changes proposed go through, this will cut £5 billion ($6.5 billion) from the bill.
According to the government UK website, disability under the Equality Act of 2010 is a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.
