Chickens have come home to roost

The outcome of the Government's own enquiry, together with a recent survey on benefit fraud, both give Peter White the right to say I told you so

The predictions I’ve been making in this column about the effects of the drip-drip, rising to a torrent, of alleged cases of benefit fraud by so-called “disabled people” in the press is beginning to bear the intended fruit; people are believing it!

The propaganda is having its effect. In a BBC survey conducted in the middle of November, an average of 40 per cent believed that disabled people were turning down work when they were capable of doing it, a figure which rose to over 50 per cent amongst younger people – those between 18 and 24 – and people on lower incomes. That demographic is not surprising. These are the very people who are also being hardest hit by the current economic situation, and who are struggling to get the same low-paid, limited prospect jobs that are available to many disabled people.

Tolerance is not easy when you’re in a recession dogfight, and the papers you read are constantly telling you about people turning out for the pub football team every Sunday whilst claiming fat benefits; if they told you how hard they had had to try to find these people, your attitude might be different. Meanwhile, the Harrington report on the Work Capability Assessment found that tests as currently conducted weren’t a fair way of assessing ability to work; wouldn’t take account of fluctuating conditions, or indeed the long-term effects of constant pain and the painkillers people have to take to quell it.

The Government has said it fully accepts the report, and will implement it! Call me naive if you like, but I’m heartened by this!

These tests have had such complaints levelled at them for the 15 years they’ve been in operation, but this is the first time so far as I know that they appear to have been listened to. Now: I’m not that naive! The Government is still intent on saving money: there are plenty of other things they can do to cut benefit; make eligibility tougher; put time limits on how long you get them for; and, well, just that – cut benefit. But this is now a test of the claim they have made repeatedly since coming into office, that these cuts are not aimed at hurting “genuinely” disabled people! We shall see!