Pat McFadden, the leader of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is already working to set the media agenda ahead of the full publication of two flagship reports in the autumn. Inevitably, he’s bleating about ‘supporting’ people with health conditions to get into work.

In a 15 July interview with the Guardian, McFadden stated that his department had already begun its work in advance of the final reports:

Even before they’ve reported, I’m already speaking to the Department for Education [and] the Department for Health. We’re going to have to respond to this as a government.

It’s my job to put together a plan, a proposal, [that] changes the question of the welfare state from simply asking, ‘what benefits are you entitled to?’, to asking, ‘how can we help you live the fullest life?’

Well that’s just lovely, isn’t it? The problem, of course, is that we live in a capitalist society, and frequently ‘having money’ is a necessary component of being alive.

The Milburn and Timms Reviews

First, a note on the findings of those two major reports so far. The Milburn Review on youth unemployment published its interim report back in May. The preliminary findings mentioned increasing levels of disability, a lack of support in schools, and growing up in poverty.

However, the interjection of review leader MP Alan Milburn’s hostility to mental health conditions and neurodivergence. Meanwhile, back in reality, DWP benefits are often harder for neurodivergent individuals – like those with ADHD – to obtain.

Likewise, in July, social security minister Stephen Timms published his interim report on the state of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) system.  He found that the payments were vitally necessary for disabled recipients. However, the system was “not fit for purpose”, and assessments were often “degrading” and “dehumanising”.

The problem with DWP ‘support’

So, what has McFadden’s take-away from the interim reports been so far? The DWP boss said:

I don’t believe government fulfils its responsibilities simply by writing a cheque. I think we owe people more than that.

Of course, for people who can never work, the system must always be there for them, and it always should be. But for those who could work, or could change their situation, then we’ve got to help them do that.

That’s a lot of words for not much at all, isn’t it?

Of course, there’s no problem with trying to provide extra support for people who are trying to get into work. As the interim Timms report acknowledged, the vast majority of people on health and disability benefits are open to the idea of work. However, they’re often constrained by their health or a lack of support in work.

However, there’s a distinct undercurrent to what McFadden is saying: it looks an awful lot like he’s suggesting ‘support’ instead of vital benefits, rather than as well as benefits. Or, at the very least, he’s failing to rule that out.

In fact, McFadden has previously acknowledged that the Timms Review is forbidden from stating that more money needs to put into the system. However, it’s of course permitted to recommend cuts.

Those strictures are at odds with the actual findings of the interim report, which acknowledges the benefit as necessary but frequently monetarily inadequate.

The welfare ‘reform’ agenda

With the now seemingly-inevitable takeover of Andy Burnham and the next PM, welfare reform is once again at the top of the agenda. Inevitably, the compliant mainsteam media is trotting out the narrative that benefits spending is ‘out of control’ right on cue.

In reality, however, benefits spending from the DWP has actually fallen as a percentage of GDP compared to 2012-13 levels. This is significant because 2013 represents the peak of welfare spending following the global financial crisis. However, even compared to the pre-crisis figures of 2007-8, it’s only risen by 0.8%.

However, the UK government has ever been a follower of the dominant narrative, rather than fact. As such, McFadden has been scrabbling to find room for welfare cuts.

In the recent Guardian interview, regarding potential avenues for welfare reform, he stated that:

You have to invest in the support. In the past, people have been signed off [on benefits] and written off. That has – as we’ve heard from this morning’s group – often led to people feeling isolated, depressed, their condition becoming worse, not better.

McFadden had met with work coaches and the disabled individuals they worked with at a job centre in Kennington. The Guardian reported that the pensions secretary saw such work-support schemes as showing how Labour needs to approach welfare reform.

Again, and for emphasis, supporting people as they get into work is a good thing. However, the DWP has demonstrated time and time again that it can’t be trusted to determine who can and cannot work.

Likewise, as Timms has already found, benefits like PIP are already too low to achieve their stated purpose. Any additional support for work must work alongside benefits rather than replacing them. Burnham’s government, whether or not it features McFadden, must not use ‘reform’ as a byword for gutting welfare even further.

Featured image via the Canary

By Grace

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