New government plans to penalise benefit claimants are dangerous
People need to be helped, not punished
The Government says it will tackle a “sicknote culture” by penalising people who receive benefits. These plans are worrying and dangerous.
Today, the Prime Minister spoke about a review of how people access benefits when they are unwell. Many people who receive these payments struggle to make ends meet. Despite this, the Government is exploring the idea of making them harder to access.
Doing this won’t help anyone who has a disability, ill health or mental health condition that prevents them from working. Instead, they’ll be pushed further into poverty and their mental health will worsen because there aren’t enough services to support them.
Austerity has made the situation worse
The Prime Minister used the phrase “sicknote culture.” It’s a harmful and reductive term that doesn’t belong in politics or anywhere else in public life.
He was referring to people who are already struggling to access the services they need to get and stay well. The public services designed to help them have been decimated by years of austerity and failure to tackle workforce pressures on the NHS and in social care.
The Prime Minister spoke about joined-up support: various organisations working together to address all the issues a benefit claimant is facing. In theory, this is a good idea. But many of these organisations are already stretched to breaking point while contending with budget cuts.
Young people make up a large proportion of those who aren’t working because of poor mental health. But mental health services are almost impossible for them to access. How does this factor into the Government’s plans for their joined-up support?
In fact, people of all ages are struggling to get the care and support they need. We know this because we see it daily. How will the Government address this?
Inequality is being ignored
Inequality is one of the main causes of ill health. Successive governments have overseen increasing inequality in this country and we’re now seeing the results. And without effective policy to address the underlying causes of poor health, we will continue to see more people unable to work.
Although the Prime Minister emphasised how working can benefit health and wellbeing, he failed to mention this is only true when your job is meaningful and fairly paid. Forcing people into work that isn’t meaningful and is unfairly paid will exacerbate mental health issues they are experiencing.
These plans need to be scrutinised
In short, these plans are extremely worrying. The Government needs to share more details so they can be properly scrutinised. We must ensure people who are unable to work because of ill health and collapsing public services aren’t pushed further into poverty.
Let’s put an end to the term “sicknote culture”
Finally, we have to address the Prime Minister’s use of the phrase “sick note culture.” We encourage everyone, including the Prime Minister, to be mindful of the language used to describe people who are unwell and who too often experience stigma and marginalisation.