PIP and Universal Credit reforms risk destroying disabled people’s independence and routes into work:

PIP and Universal Credit reforms risk destroying disabled people’s independence and routes into work:

I’ve written to Andy Burnham about the impact PIP and Universal Credit reforms could have on disabled people who are already trying to work and remain independent.

For me, further cuts or restrictions wouldn’t push me into employment — they could make me homeless, bankrupt and destroy everything I’ve been building towards becoming self-employed.

PIP helps cover the extra costs of disability and supports independence. Councils, the NHS and charities simply cannot absorb the consequences if that support is removed.

Disabled people need meaningful consultation, proper impact assessments and safeguards against poverty, debt and homelessness.

You cannot claim to support disabled people into work while taking away the very support that makes work and independence possible.

#SystemicAbleism #DisabilityRights #DisabilitySupport #PIP #UniversalCredit #StrongerTogether

My email:

PIP and Universal Credit reforms risk destroying disabled people’s independence and routes into work:

Dear Andy Burnham,

I am writing to you because I am deeply concerned about the direction of PIP and Universal Credit reform and what further reductions or restrictions could mean for disabled people like me.

I want to explain this from the perspective of someone who is actively trying to build a future and become more financially independent.

I am disabled and my life is already only just financially sustainable. I have nevertheless been working hard towards establishing myself as a sole trader, building on the work, advocacy and creative projects I already do.

That should be something government policy supports and encourages.

However, if my disability-related support or Universal Credit is reduced beyond what I can realistically absorb, it will not push me further towards employment or independence.

It could make me homeless and bankrupt.

It could destroy everything I have spent years working towards.

PIP is not simply an unemployment benefit. It helps disabled people meet the additional costs associated with disability and maintain independence, including mobility, daily living, participation in society and, for many of us, the ability to work at all.

The same applies to the wider Universal Credit safety net. Removing financial stability from somebody who is trying to establish sustainable self-employment does not create employment. It creates crisis.

There also seems to be an assumption that councils or other local services can somehow absorb the consequences when national support is reduced.

They cannot.

Councils are already under enormous financial pressure, and access to social care, housing support, transport, disability services and other assistance is already extremely restricted in many areas.

If central government removes financial support, the costs of disability do not magically disappear.

They are simply transferred onto disabled people, families, councils, the NHS, housing services and charities — until eventually people reach breaking point.

For me personally, losing essential financial support would mean losing independence rather than gaining it.

It could mean being unable to maintain my home, manage disability-related expenses or continue investing the limited resources I have into becoming self-employed.

Everything I have done to try to move forward could be undone.

That is what frightens me most about these reforms.

I am trying.

I am trying to work.

I am trying to build something sustainable.

I am trying to contribute to my community and economy despite significant disability.

I am trying to remain independent.

Policy should not punish disabled people for reaching towards independence by removing the foundations that make that independence possible.

I would therefore urge you to challenge any PIP or Universal Credit reform that leaves disabled people substantially worse off without a properly funded and realistic alternative.

I would particularly like to see:

meaningful consultation with disabled people before reforms are implemented;

proper cumulative impact assessments looking at housing, poverty, debt, health and social care consequences;

recognition of the additional costs of disability;

protection for disabled people attempting self-employment or gradual entry into work;

safeguards against people being pushed into homelessness or unmanageable debt;

and recognition that councils simply do not have unlimited resources available to replace national disability support.

Please raise these concerns wherever you are able to do so.

I have worked incredibly hard to rebuild my independence and create a future for myself. I do not want to become more dependent on public services. I want the opportunity to continue building a sustainable working life.

But life's barely sustainable for me financially as it is.

Taking away the support that enables me to function would not help me into work.

It would take my independence away from me and potentially destroy the very route into work I have spent years building.

Disabled people deserve reform that genuinely improves our lives and opportunities, not reform that balances the books by pushing already struggling people into poverty.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Kind regards,

Sarah Wingfield

Actor • Author • Advocate

KawaiiDollDecora.uk

Newton Aycliffe, County Durham

#eugenics #systemicableism #disabilityinclusion #strongertogether #disability #disabilityawareness #disabilitysupport #disabilityrights #reform #deform

Screenshot of a written statement about disability benefits and independence. It says disabled people should not be punished for trying to remain independent by having essential support removed. The statement urges opposition to PIP or Universal Credit reforms that leave disabled people substantially worse off without a properly funded alternative. It calls for meaningful consultation with disabled people, cumulative impact assessments covering housing, poverty, debt, health and social care, recognition of disability-related costs, protection for disabled people moving into self-employment or work, safeguards against homelessness and unmanageable debt, and recognition that councils do not have unlimited resources to replace national disability support.