The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) minister for disabled people has said Personal Independence Payment (PIP) reforms could help get disabled people into work. This is in spite of the fact that it is not an unemployment benefit.
Stephen Timms was speaking to the Financial Times (FT) ahead of what the publication says is “the first meeting of the Review”. Considering the steering committee hasn’t even been decided yet, that’s quite an indefinite amount of time.
Timms equating PIP with work
The minister told the FT:
We do want to take account how [Pip] supports people into work
Which is true, but not in the way Timms is saying. PIP literally only supports people to get to work. It covers the extra cost of disability, so it can help towards taxis because public transport is inaccessible. It’s also there as a safety net so people with energy-limiting conditions can work hours which are better for them.
Timms was asked by the FT if PIP should have an explicit goal of getting people back into work. Ridiculousness of the question aside, he answered:
I think there is a case for that, yes. There are things we can do in PIP to make it easier for people, to improve the support for people to move into work
But PIP isn’t connected to work; anyone can claim PIP regardless of employment status. And the government knows this, Timms, especially. There’s no way somebody with this much experience in work and pensions couldn’t know that PIP isn’t an unemployment benefit.
DWP trying to convince public we’re all benefit scroungers
However, the government also knows that the public doesn’t know this. So they get to look like they just want to support poor disabled people. Whilst subtly painting the PIP claimants who don’t work as benefit scroungers.
This will make it easier in the long run for the government to make PIP harder to qualify for. Whilst at the same time, pushing ahead with plans to move the Work Capability Assessment from Universal Credit to PIP.
Timms was also asked about welfare spending, because of course he was:
What we’ve seen with Pip is a big increase in spending, but not, I think, a big increase in user satisfaction with it
There are ways that we can do a better job in meeting people’s needs, in promoting independence, in helping people move into work without seeing rapidly continuing increases in spending.
He was doing so well until he had to include pushing people into work. Because the minister is right, PIP claimants aren’t happy. But that’s because the cruel PIP system is pitted against us and we can’t bloody contact them. And after jumping through all their hoops, we’re still treated like scroungers.
We’ve already got a scheme to help disabled people into work
This also completely forgets that there’s already a scheme which is supposed to support disabled people into work. The government repeatedly come under fire because it’s quietly cutting Access to Work. All the while, constantly talking about new ways they can “help” disabled people into work. If you just fucking funded the current way, you wouldn’t need a new way, lads.
The DWP needs to face up to the fact that they don’t actually want to support disabled people into work. If they did, they wouldn’t be cutting Access to Work. What they’re doing with all of these reforms is looking for ways to cut corners and save money. None of it is for disabled people’s benefit. And the sooner they admit that, the better.
Featured image via the Canary
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