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Cameron's benefits witch hunt demonises disabled people

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Top 150 Contributor
Vern Posted: 10 Aug 2010 10:57 AM

Cameron's benefits witch hunt demonises disabled people

The evidence doesn't support the need for a crack down on disability cheats. Sure there are some but the idea that finding them all would save billions seems ridiculous to me.

Top 25 Contributor
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We have yet more news of disability benefit cuts - this time in the shape of payments for mortgage interest.

Why have disabled people become such a target for the coalition?

 

Top 75 Contributor

Where does it say that they were focussing on disability cheats. I was hoping they'd take a look at Housing Benefit fraud tbh.

Top 150 Contributor

It's reported by both The Guardian and The Daily Mail that they're looking at incapacity benefit, which is squarely aimed at disabled people, as well as housing benefit.

Top 100 Contributor

I think that there are many people who are on Disability Living Allowance, who can work and I say this from experience.  I worked for 3 years in a "Welfare to Work" programme and many people WILL NOT WORK, there are some individuals who thought that they could be a computer programmer after doing a basic computer course, I tried to get these people into work and on a college course.  However many would say "well I will just go on the sick", and WEEKS later they would be on DLA.  If we tried to raise a doubt on their claim then we could do little as it was "against their human rights".....its a complete joke!!

Top 75 Contributor

DLA is not means tested. It is possible and legit to be on DLA and also to be working.

It's the ESA/ Incapacity Benefit which is means tested. (But I still think they should be focussed more on HB.)

Top 150 Contributor

True, but that also looks set to change with the introduction of a medical assessment for DLA. Does that mean the government might go after fraudulent DLA claimants in the same way in the future?

Top 75 Contributor
Yes, and I'm concerned about that for the same reasons that you are. I just think that on this specific news story they're going after people who are committing fraud by lying about their income (ie. targetting all of the means tested benefits) so I'm not sure it's right to say that they are demonising disabled people in particular.
Top 10 Contributor

Launching "benefit fraud crackdowns" is the time-honoured refuge of unpopular Governments. It gets good headlines in teh short term, but achieves very little in the long term. A handy fall-back to take people's minds off the "cuts, cuts, cuts" agenda.

 

 

 
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