Welfare Bill - Government must now stop and listen

12 January 2012 | 11:00 AM

Jane Harris

Last night's triple defeat in the Lords was undoubtedly a shock for many. It should have showed the Government the strength of feeling against some measures in the Welfare Reform Bill. Employment Minister Chris Grayling didn't show any signs of this this morning, however, telling the Today programme that these reforms are what the British people want.

This raises an interesting question: do we know what the British people want on welfare? What would a fair system look like to the average citizen?

.Most of the population have little sense of how the benefits system actually works Having worked in mental health for a number of years, I have witnessed the shocking realisation many people have when they are exposed to the benefits system for the first time. It's easy to dismiss complaints about long indecipherable forms, long waits for appeals and perennially low income when you're not living through it. When it's you, your brother, your daughter or mother who's facing a lifetime of near poverty, through no fault of their own, suddenly the system seems to fall short of what you think of as fair.

"Rethink Mental Illness is calling for a pause in the Bill, similar to the one in the Health and Social Care Bill last Spring."

If the current Bill goes through, many more will have to face this revelation. So many provisions are ill thought through. Why should someone who has worked hard for years then be left with no income even when they can't work? A year may be a long time in politics but it's not long enough for many to get back to work after a serious mental or physical illness. Why should a family be less well off because they have stuck with an ill or disabled relative and done their best to support them?

Very little public consultation has been carried out around the Welfare Reform Bill so it is difficult for the Government to claim they know what people want. The publication of the Spartacus Report earlier this week shows that when people who know the system have expressed their opinions, they have not been listened to. The arguments in favour of the Welfare Reform Bill look to have weakened following last night’s Lords vote and with controversial proposals around Housing Benefit and the new Personal Independence Payment due to be debated in the coming weeks, the Government’s justification for the proposals will be increasingly called into question.

Rethink Mental Illness is calling for a pause in the Bill, similar to the one in the Health and Social Care Bill last Spring. This pause led to real public engagement with the Bill, which resulted in significant improvements being made to the legislation. Without this input, the Welfare Reform Bill is going to diverge further and further from public opinion and support.

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Comments

Please note: Rethink accepts no responsiblity for the content of comments in the blog.

esa/dla

I suffer of severe depression and gad who have been told i always be like this and unable to work i attend day service in sheffield and heard of people losing there dla people kicked off esa put on jobseeker.a fellow service user was put esa and she was on incapacity and severe disablement as put on work related and expected to go to work focus interviews when shes unable to work so shes appealing.Theres no jobs for well people so why pick on the sick either mentally are physically.They should give us esa and dla and leave them alone.And if people feel they are fit for work then they should be put job seekers.Personally i think you should send a petition to all day services for service users to sign that we dont want a restriction of esa to a year but for life and shouldnt be made to look for work if they are unable and made to go on work focus interviews.

2. At 05:11 PM on 12 January 2012 David Nicoll wrote:

You REALLY know they are wrong when...

You REALLY know the ConDems are barking up the wrong tree when even the Daily Mail runs an article saying the reforms are wrong!

3. At 04:44 PM on 12 January 2012 Michael McPhillips wrote:

Welfare reform

The PM's recent claim that Britain is a Christian country should cause the minister to apply such principles to any reforms especially those affecting the less well-off, the poor, disabled, and the sick. Those best able to withstand austerity should be to the forefront in doing so. Insisting that the lowest income groups should equally pay and sacrifice living standards illustrates a degree of selfishness that conflicts with Christian beliefs. The "Big Society" if it leaves no room for sentiment or charity will come to resemble "Animal Farm" more than "New Jerusalem".

4. At 03:09 PM on 12 January 2012 SB wrote:

Welfare Reform

I am interested in politics but cannot claim to be anything of an 'expert' but for what it is worth, I (as a physically disabled and mentally unwell with GAD) feel let down by the Government. It would seem that this current Government (and no doubt they are all similar) care more about doing better than the last administration than looking after their people. It makes me feel thoroughly sick that the house of lords have seen sense and can see the impact such welfare reforms would have and yet the government are wanting to overturn it almost in some sort of means of revenge. I wonder how many others like me are sitting thinking 'What next?' and genuinely feeling scared at what is to come?

5. At 12:43 PM on 12 January 2012 SD wrote:

welfare reform

What the Lords did last night was great, but it amounts to nothing if the government are intent on reversing it which they've already said they're going to do. There will be no pause in welfare reform, it is quite clear the government really couldn't care less about the impact their reforms are and will have on very vulnerable people. They bang on about fairness to the taxpayer, well a lot of taxpayers are also part time carers or their partners are full time carers for disabled children, how are they going to manage if financial support is withdrawn. It's probably the most ill thought out policy ever and the long term cost to the taxpayer will be huge, not forgetting the human cost. I despair, I really do!