TUC: Government must end its cruel assault on sick and disabled people

The latest government announcement on reforms to financial support for those with ill health or disability is misleading rhetoric. The lives of those with ill health or disability are completely misrepresented, and the language they use is divisive, (writes TUC’s ANJUM KLAIR).

Mel Stride announced the consultation on reform of Personal Independent Payments (PIP). Two immediate observations from us are:   

  • The Government has deliberately confused the purpose of this benefit in order to ramp up its benefit scrounger rhetoric. PIP is not an out-of-work benefit: disabled people in full-time employment can be, and are, assessed as eligible for PIP. It assesses whether someone’s impairment or health conditions affects their day-to-day life and is intended to cover some of the additional costs incurred as a result of being disabled. It is not for assessing if you are capable of work- or work-related activity.  
  • The idea that you can claim PIP for mild mental illness is untrue. The criteria for accessing PIP is stringent. You have to be suffering from severe mental illness. It is a complex application process and have to provide medical evidence. 

If the current data is showing rising numbers of those with severe depression and anxiety claiming PIP, you don’t change the eligibility criteria to reduce claimant numbers – you look at the underlying drivers of ill health.    

More than a decade of austerity under the Conservatives has resulted in crumbling public services. 

NHS waiting lists are at record highsfood insecurity and destitution has increased, and poverty levels are rising. This will inevitably affect physical and mental health. Data shows life expectancy and healthy life expectancy falling, and this is more profound in deprived areas.      

The approach by government is to blame individuals. Only recently the Prime Minister attacked those too sick to work, by saying UK had a sick note culture, yet the data on workplace sickness absence does not suggest any substantial challenges.

And again, government conflates two separate areas, sick notes look at short-term illness for those in work and not long-term illness and disability.  It is the rise in long-term sickness and disability which is alarming.  

The ideas proposed in the consultation also include the insulting suggestion that disabled people are not to be trusted with spending their benefits on essential support. As it moves away from a fixed cash benefit and proposes to reimburse for extra costs, this also assumes that disabled people have the money to pay up front for this.

The consultation also proposes accessing treatments rather than receiving benefits for ill health, yet it is the lack of access to treatment which is exacerbating the increase in ill health.  The long delays are well documented. Just for mental health support there is around1.9 million people waiting for support in England,        

The PIP consultation also adds a further layer of confusion for people not working due to ill health, as the government already set out a plan for health and disability benefits reform last year.  This is proposed for the new Parliament, and includes:    

  • The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) to be abolished and eligibility for the health top-up in Universal Credit (UC) ( in this case the health element) will be passported (i.e. approved) via PIP.  
  • The current UC Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) element will be replaced with a new UC health element.  
  • Introduce more tailored conversations for claimants with work coaches, to enter suitable employment.  

While we have issues with the validity of WCA decisions, it is supposed to assess people’s ability to work, while PIP clearly does not do this. This proposed change would amount to a huge financial cut to those not well enough to work. The IFS estimates that one million disabled or seriously unwell people who can’t get PIP would lose out by £350 a month. 

Wider problems in the Government’s plan include the proposed introduction of a new personalised health conditionality approach. Disabled people will also face a higher risk of sanctions, as at present people currently identified as being unable to work and prepare for work are protected but could lose this right under the changes.   

Such measures do not consider the structural barriers that stop disabled people from entering into the workplace, such as discrimination from employers, a failure to put in place reasonable adjustments, and inaccessible transport. The result will be many disabled people whose health makes it difficult or impossible to carry out work activity without a realistic chance of getting a job, being threatened with sanctions. 

Separately the Government has made changes to descriptors in the WCA to apply from September 2025 for new claimants. As a result, 424,000 fewer people are expected to be assessed as having limited capability for work and work-related activity by 2028 to 2029.

The theme by the Conservative government is to constantly reduce eligibility to cut social security entitlement for disabled people or those with ill health. Government needs to end this cruel assault on sick and disabled people.  

Concern over rise in number of young people with mental illness being treated in adult wards

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading providers of specialist children’s services, is urging the Scottish Government to up its game in response to figures from the Mental Welfare Commission noting an increase in the number of young people under 18 being admitted to non-specialist hospital wards for the treatment of mental illness.

In 2021/22 there were 90 admissions involving 80 young people to mainly adult wards, an increase on 2021-21 when there were 86 admissions involving 62 young people.

Admission of a young person to an adult ward should only be acceptable in rare situations.

However, despite a greatly increased demand on mental health services, there are currently only 48 specialist hospital beds provided by the NHS in Scotland for children and young people (aged 12 to 18) with mental health problems. 

Given the lack of provision, many children and young people with severe mental health problems are therefore being admitted to non-specialist adult and paediatric hospital wards, settings which are in many cases inappropriate to their needs.

The coalition has urged the Scottish Government to ensure that there are adequate specialist bed numbers that can address need, including provision north of Dundee. It has also called on it to refocus its efforts on prevention and early intervention, ensuring that issues do not escalate so that they require the provision of these specialist services.

Under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment (Scotland) Act 2003 Health Boards are required to provide appropriate services and accommodation for young people admitted to hospital for treatment of their mental disorder.

Given admissions to non-specialist mental health wards, it is clearly arguable whether appropriate services are being provided.

There are a number of differences between specialist units and wards designed to treat the needs of adults with serious mental illness, both in terms of staff training and the overall ward environment.

Given this, there is a clear concern that the needs of a young person may not be met in a comparable way when admitted to an adult mental health ward as opposed to a specialist CAMHS inpatient unit.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition commented: “We are clearly concerned about the increasing number of those being admitted to adult mental health wards, often inappropriate to their needs, both in terms of staff training and the ward environment.

“The Scottish Government needs to up its game on this and provide adequate facilities, ensuring that there are sufficient specialist bed numbers for those requiring them. There is also currently no provision north of Dundee and this requires to be urgently addressed.

“For children and young people who require inpatient mental health care, a lack of such services means that they frequently remain at home, often until the family reaches crisis point, leaving them feeling isolated and delaying recovery.

“These are among the most vulnerable members of our society and we owe it to them to give them the adequate care and support that they need.”

Nick Clegg: time to talk about mental health

A message from Deputy Prime Minister to mark

World Mental Health Day

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The Deputy Prime Minister said:

It’s astounding that, in this day and age, when millions of us spend so much time blogging, tweeting and updating our Facebook status, there’s still one issue that we all hesitate to talk about – our mental health.

This is despite the fact that 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health condition each year. We’re talking about people from every walk of life: mums, dads, sisters, brothers, pensioners, and teenagers… the list goes on.

If we broke an arm or a leg, we’d happily chat to our family, friends and work colleagues about the pain, inconvenience and treatment involved. But substitute that broken bone for anxiety or depression and, because of the stigma still associated with mental health, it’s harder for many to find the right words.

This World Mental Health Day, you can help us change that.

In this coalition government, the Liberal Democrats have worked hard to close the gap between the treatment of physical health and mental health in the NHS: increasing access to talking therapies for those who need them; transforming the help children can get as they move into adulthood; and now, for the first-time ever, introducing NHS waiting time standards for mental health conditions, alongside investing £120 million to improve services.

But you don’t need to be a health expert or politician to do your bit. A quick chat over a cup of tea, a supportive text or phone call or a friendly word to ask if everything’s okay – today, all these things could make a massive difference.

So, if you know someone struggling with a mental health problem, pop on the kettle or pick up your phone now – let’s give them the support they need to live the life they want.

You can find further information and advice to help you at: www.time-to-change.org.uk.

It’s time for all of us to talk about mental health.

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