Labour’s proposals ignore the many barriers disabled people face in being able to take and keep work, argues Linda Burnip.

People who claim long-term sickness benefits should be made to look for work, the Prime Minister has said. Yet for many disabled people, this will never work and the rhetoric that “Work sets you free” is particularly dangerous.

Sir Keir Starmer said support will be in place to help people get jobs, as the Government looks to reduce the number of claimants. This is simplistic and ignores the many barriers disabled people face in being able to take and keep work – to the point of being offensive.

Access to Work funding, for example, which is supposed to pay for the support disabled people need to get to and at work has a backlog of over six months for claims to be processed. How many employers will keep a vacancy unfilled for over six months waiting for this to happen?

Sense research found that while many “desperately want to work”, the current system “blocks them from doing so”, citing that half of jobseekers with complex disabilities do not feel they have the support and equipment they need to look for a job.

Around 31% want assistive technology such as text-to-speech screen readers, dictation software and braille displays to help them communicate and find jobs, Sense said. But it added its research suggested, “zero job centres across the country have this available”.

Some 2.8 million people are out of work due to ill-health, 500,000 more than in 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics.

A report by the Boston Consulting Group and NHS Confederation earlier this month found 85% of those have long term health conditions. There are currently 12 million people living in poverty, with no thought being given to how living in constant poverty and having to choose between eating and heating can affect mental health.

“Data shows that growth in mental health conditions extends beyond the pandemic impact, steadily rising since 2017/18 and remaining the most reported condition among 16 to 24 and 25 to 49-year-olds,” the report said.

Meanwhile this week Wes Streeting said “a crack team” of senior doctors will be brought in to implement reforms aimed at getting patients treated faster and helping people get back to work to reduce waiting lists, unemployment and economic inactivity. He told the Labour Conference in Liverpool: “We’re sending crack teams of top clinicians to hospitals across the country to roll out reforms – developed by surgeons – to treat more patients and cut waiting lists.”

While this is to be welcomed by anyone needing and waiting for surgery, it won’t help anyone with a long term chronic health condition. In relation to mental health in particular, services have been slashed in the past 14 years and in many areas don’t exist anymore. For many even getting something as basic as a GP appointment is a major battle.

The NHS Confederation report called for a whole government approach to tackling the root causes of ill health, including poor living or working conditions. It suggested that tackling NHS waiting lists was good, but “when it comes to economic inactivity driven by long-term sickness, the issue goes wider than just immediate clinical care.”

It said: “Our analysis has underlined the importance of wider social determinants of health, such as economic and working conditions and crime, on overall population health.”

As for reducing to zero fraud levels for disability benefits by giving sweeping powers to the Department for Work and Pensions to access peoples’ bank accounts Disabled People Against the Cuts stands with Big Brother Watch in seeking to prevent this abuse of state power.

“No transport =  no work / No support = no work / No adaptations = no work / No health services = no work / No housing = no work / and Labour, It’s up to you to make the changes we need, not up to us. So Labour “Work sets you free”. Now where have we read that before?” –  Merry Cross (disabled activist).

Linda Burnip is co-founder of Disabled People Against Cuts.