This week the House of Lord voted in favour of cutting disability unemployment benefit by £30 per week leaving many, already struggling people, without money they need to live on. Names of the politicians who voted in favour of such a move have been published in the Independent in a so called ‘name and shame’ type article. The difficulty here however is that many of the Tory MPs have no shame and therefore disabled people continue to be squeezed.
Nobody can deny the extra costs of living incurred when people are coping with a disability or long term health condition. Just getting around can be difficult and many rely on taxis or even a car for everyday tasks. There are many more hidden cost that disabled people have to shell out for, so why would government want to make their lives more difficult than it already are?
The entire premise of the government’s argument is that disabled people are too lazy to get work because welfare benefits are too plentiful and too easily attained. This is not the case. Many disability organisations have reported that disabled people want to work but can’t due to both the environmental and attitudinal barriers that are still in place. Many disabled people still can’t access public transport to get to a place of work and, if they could, might not even get into the building.
As a disabled job seeker I have come across time and time again attitudinal barriers that have prevented employers from hiring me. I know people with far less qualifications than me have been employed in the very same roles I have applied for. Disability discrimination is alive and well and this is only one example of many I, and no doubt others, could spout.
Until governments address the barriers, attitudes and the working environment, employment rates among disabled people are likely to remain the same. By cutting welfare, all they are doing is making the lives of disabled people even more difficult than it already is or has to be.