Starmer’s Britain

James Tapper writes:

A blind woman with complex disabilities was refused benefits because she managed to travel to the interview with her mother’s help, she has told The Observer.

Charlotte Easton was assessed for another benefits claim in a phone call, and the Department for Work and Pensions then gave its decision by sending her a printed letter that she could not read

Sense, a charity for disabled people, says these kinds of experiences are commonplace, after it conducted a survey of 1,001 people with complex disabilities, defined as those with two or more conditions such as a visual or hearing impairment or a learning disability.

The research found that 43% had been repeatedly contacted by the DWP in a format that did not meet their needs, even though they had previously told the department how they should be contacted.

More than half (51%) said they felt humiliated by going through the benefits process and 45% said it had made symptoms of the condition worse. Of those that did receive support, 51% said their benefits payments did not cover the extra costs they face from being disabled and more than a third were behind on the energy bills.

Easton is 40 and lives in Hertfordshire with her brother, who acts as her carer. She is blind and has a hearing impairment and was diagnosed with Pfeiffer syndrome, a genetic condition affecting her skull, and hydrocephalus. She cannot leave home without help and employers have not been interested in her, so she applied for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and had to travel to Archway in north London for her assessment.

“They asked how I got there,” she said. “My mum said we’d gone by train, and she’d had to guide me and make sure people didn’t bump into me and all those sorts of things.

“Because mum was able to get me there, they basically said that that, and the fact that I used to have dogs and let them in the garden, meant ‘you’re more than capable of working’.”

She was assessed for a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a phone call and was accepted and given the decision in a printed letter that her mother had to read to her. She believes her mother told the DWP to contact her with braille letters or via email, which she can access with a screen reader. Easton said that having family and friends who could support her was important, but she did not want to be dependent on them all the time.

“It does frustrate me,” she said. “My mum tried to appeal against [the ESA decision] but nothing came of it. I said I couldn’t keep going through things like that. Much as life might be easier with the money, my life would be easier without the stress of trying to battle for it.”

She has been working with a communicator guide, who takes her out once a week. “She’s got me confident enough now that I won’t hold onto her – I’ll just hold my arm against her as we walk. I use my cane now which I never had the confidence to use before.” Easton recently discovered the existence of guide runners and now hopes to do a marathon. “I started last week and I was quite impressed because I didn’t fall over.”

Sense says the government should reform the benefits system to make it fully accessible, with an application process that is as simple as possible for disabled people and benefit rates that allow them to afford essentials.

Richard Kramer, Sense’s chief executive, said: “Our research has exposed serious flaws with the benefits system – which disabled people are paying the price for.“It is unacceptable that people with complex disabilities are feeling humiliated and scared, and having their condition deteriorate because of their benefits assessments.”

Several charities and disability campaigners have criticised the benefits system, saying that vulnerable claimants have been pushed into hardship after being refused help unfairly. In 2020, there was outcry after it emerged that Errol Graham, a severely mental ill man, died of starvation in 2018, eight months after his disability benefits were cut off.

In May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched an investigation into the DWP and successive secretaries of state, on suspicion they had broken equality law through their treatment of disabled people and those with severe mental illness.

The EHRC’s chair, Kisher Falkner, said at the time she was “extremely worried” and felt they needed “to take the strongest possible action”.

Last month Liz Kendall, the new work and pensions secretary, published 31 reports that she said had been suppressed by her Conservative predecessors, including one which showed that two thirds of benefits claimants with debts had been unable to buy food.

The work capability assessment, used to decide who gets ESA, is expected to be reformed or replaced in early 2025 as part of the government’s ambition to reduce the benefits bill. Campaigners are nervous about what that means. Under Rishi Sunak, the government consulted on changes to PIP that would mean the cash benefit was replaced with a voucher scheme or one-off grants and the new administration is examining the responses.

The DWP said it was unable to comment on Easton’s case since it had not been given enough details to investigate – Easton did not want to give her national insurance number to the department’s media team.

A spokesperson said: “Millions of people rely on our welfare system every year and it is vital that it can be accessed by all who need it.

“That’s why we will work closely with disabled people to reform the current system so that it provides the support they need.”