Jun 07 2024 45 mins
We’ve had a show like this before, where we ask what the UK government are doing when it comes to disability and why now. We’re not sure they know what they are doing.
PM Rishi Sunak has ‘started a conversation’ on reviewing Personal Independence Payment, the main disability benefit in the UK. He decided to start this just before the local elections and also knowing it cannot be finished before the next general election. The Guardian calls it a ‘full-on assault on disabled people’ and The Telegraph, ‘a benefits crackdown’. It appears to be aimed at people with mental health and neurological conditions, who now make up 49% of all PIP claim assessments, compared to 26% of those with muscular-skeletal conditions.
The United Nations doesn’t cut the UK government much slack either, reporting that ‘it has made' no significant progress in more than seven years since it was found guilty of grave and systematic violations of the UN disability convention.’
Join us as we delve into the issues and talk about the perception and impact now and in the future.
(At the time of recording, the Prime Minister hadn’t announced the general election, which is happening on 4th July 2024)
Links
BBC Ros Atkins video on PIP review
Disability News Service ‘Seven years on and no progress on disability rights by UK government, says UN’
Disability Rights UK UN Rapporteurs Question UK Government Over Benefits Deaths and Austerity
Human Rights Watch UN Body Calls on UK to End Detention of People with Disabilities