The Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC), a network of over 100 organisations, have written an open letter to Thérèse Coffey, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to call for urgent changes to the benefits system to ensure we protect disabled and seriously unwell people from further physical and financial harm during the covid-19 emergency.
In the letter the DBC says it welcomes the recently announced measures designed to protect the incomes of large numbers of people whose livelihoods have been adversely impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. “But we believe that these support measures need to go further.”
The letter adds
“People living with a disability and those with long-term health conditions tend to have lower real incomes and higher costs than the general population and we are calling on the Government to produce a more comprehensive package of support, to better protect these individuals and their families, at this difficult time.”
One of the most pressing issues it says is the current level of demand on the system due to the unprecedented number of new claims. This is causing extremely long waiting times and problems with the digital claims process.
Artificial limits that keep many households (mainly with children) below basic benefit levels are particularly inappropriate at this time and the consortium says the Government should suspend the benefit cap and the “two-child policy”.
Disabled people in work and parents of disabled children stand to lose far more than most people if they lose TP,sometimes amounting to thousands of pounds a year. This will make it even more difficult for them to recover from the economic shock of the next few months.
They also recommend that The Government should make all UC advances for disabled people non-repayable grants.
