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| Credit: Dallas Morning News |
Leadership requires action, and difficult decisions. We know that the UK has the highest welfare bill in the G7 nations. It is growing. The population is aging. Something has to be done.
My thoughts are these.
1) Discuss this problem widely with all the representative groups who support people with disabilities. Most of these people will also be using the welfare system themselves.
2) Separate funding that relates to compensating the financial effects of disability on people in our society (PIP or Personal Independence Payments), and funding to support people to 'get into work' (using the political jargon.) PIP should be a scientific calculation, based on the extra costs incurred due to disability. If we were all disabled now, it would not exist.
3) In partnership with disabled people, create an agency attached to the DWP jobcentre that supports disabled people to work in a win-win scenario. Enable people to do meaningful and productive work, in a context of the competitive pressures of the market place. We are aiming to created a mutually rewarding social pact.
Examples
Jess, a neighbour of ours, used to work at the University in journal publishing. It was a well paid job. She contracted what became known as Long COVID. After a period of sickness she was laid off by the university. For a number of years she has been claiming benefits. There were times she told us, when she would take out the bins and become exhausted, having to lie down for the rest of the day. Her work record, and on-going vulnerability means that now getting a job she can do continues to be a challenge. I discussed with Jess what she needs. She mused that she needs a situation where her employer will not be penalised for taking her on given that she cannot be 100% reliable. She needs a work environment where she can work when she is well, and coast when not. The alternative is that she stays on benefits for years to come. The idea of squeezing people in this situation into greater and great poverty seem cruel.
Manjit works with me. She is 50 years old and has menopausal symptoms of dizziness, loss of confidence and memory. She says it frightens her. Her work load is affected. My employer says that our service is under national scrutiny because of evidence of poor productivity. Manjit is being told she must keep the work rate up. She is finding this very stressful, and has required period of sickness to cope. Her GP is her main ally. She is currently on a plan to increase her workload to full by September. I am concerned about what will happen if she does not meet her targets. The term 'constructive dismissal' comes to mind. Are we expecting Manjit to do something she will fail at, and become more unwell, and leave? At the moment her situation is not in the bracket of situations called 'protected characteristics'. For example, pregnancy is. But pregnancy is time limited, and their is the health of a baby (or two) at stake.
The impact of some disabilities on the ability to fit in with our capitalist, hard-nosed society are obvious. Other situations are more transitory and less visible. At the moment our system is not preventative, but rather waits for the problem to arise, and then picks up the pieces. This is likely to be at a far greater cost to society than a policy that promote ability, and competence. But this would require a pollical opening of minds, and a social change towards collective solutions, not just "I'm alright Jack - give them as little as we can get away with, cos' they don't deserve it."
I prefer "We all have a part to play. How can we ensure that all of our contributions are maximised?"
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