Here we go again! Labour attacking the disabled!!!

Recently the Chancellor said that she “can’t leave welfare untouched” during this Parliament. To me this translates into plain English as ‘I must attack disabled people’.

Let us remember that the mantra of this Labour Government, especially the Chancellor and the Prime Minister, was that Labour want to help and support disabled people into work.

However, the Government is launching an attack on the Motability Scheme where she is looking at axing £1 billion in support to the scheme through removing its VAT exemption.

Let us remember that Motability is a scheme to enable disabled people and their families to lease a new car, scooter or powered wheelchair.

David Buxton, Chief Executive of Action on Disability said “Removing VAT exemption on mobility cars is punishing Disabled people who rely on them for independence. Even BSL interpreter agencies charge me VAT, which they shouldn’t! Why are disabled people being taxed for access and mobility?”

The Chancellor’s plans to attack the Motability scheme in reality means that the Government, far from supporting disabled people into work will potentially kick disabled people out of work or at least prevent them from starting work.

This blatant attack on the Motability scheme follows on from the Labour Government’s cuts in Access to Work through severely restricting grants through the disability employment scheme.

This is further reinforced by the fact that disabled claimants are losing out by hundreds of pounds a month as a result of disabled claimants being moved from, what are described as the old legacy benefits, onto Universal Credit.

These observations lead you, unsurprisingly, to the question ‘Do the Government really want to support disabled people – who can work – into work?’

If you still feel able to answer Yes to this question then please tell us why the Government appear to be so determined to create more barriers to work rather than removing them?

A recent report from Action on Disability shows that the average support hours available for disabled workers has been slashed from 22.5 hours to just 4 hours in the last two and a half years.

They highlighted the fact that the Access to Work scheme, once a flagship scheme enabling Deaf and Disabled people to work, has been undermined by internal changes that have reduced awards by up to 80%, introduced arbitrary “20%” support limits, and left claimants without replies to appeals or correspondence. In reality the current Access to Work scheme is failing Deaf and Disabled People

Action on Disability’s Chief Executive, David Buxton OBE, said: “Access to Work should be a bridge into employment. Instead, thousands are being left stranded mid-way. The scheme’s decline is costing jobs, damaging wellbeing, and wasting public money. We hope the NAO’s inquiry restores transparency, fairness, and trust.”

Let me conclude this article by noting that this Government’s latest attacks on disabled people has not provoked any outrage or statements publicly challenging the Government from any of the main political parties or indeed from the Trade Union movement

If disabled workers cannot rely on support from the trade union movement who can they rely upon for support?

Notes

1. You can read a copy of the Action on Disability submission to the National Audit Office’s investigation into the Department for Work and Pensions’ Access to Work programme here https://aod.org.uk/atw-reform/