Thread by @BlokeOnWheels

Right lovely people! You might want to get comfy for this one, a #thread on the awfulness and pointlessness of the latest Tory plans for sick and disabled people. This will not be a fully comprehensive analysis of every single point because quite frankly, I don't think I could..1

Fit everything in, but here we go.

The government's central argument is that people (like me) who have been found unfit for work by the DWP having undertaken a work capability assessment are being held back and denied the opportunitys of financial security and fulfilment..

That can be found through employment. That is the biggest load of bollocks I have ever read, if people are found unfit for work, that means they can't work. It's not the fact that we have been found unfit fit for work that's the problem, it's the fact that we can't...3

And the government won't accept it any more. The rationale for this is that there are 2.4 million people in receipt of disability benefits without any work requirements attached. The government seems to think that this number alone means that some people must have been...4

Assessed incorrectly and are in fact capable of some work, despite the fact that there is no actual evidence of this, beyond the fact that they envisioned the numbers to be much smaller. So the government solution is to promote home working. Yes the very same thing they've...5

Been demonising for months has now become a magical solution to solve all the barriers faced by disabled people in respect of finding employment. Of course, we know that it won't work with this and this plan is merely a way of clawing back money after things like test and...6

Trace and the pandemic PPE fiasco created a financial black hole that the government somehow thinks disabled and sick people are responsible for fixing. Now, to get onto the actual consultation, one of the things they want to do is suggest that inability to move oneself...7

Should no longer be seen as a barrier to work with the advent of homeworking. Under the current criteria, if you cannot move more than 50 m repeatedly, including using aids such as a manual (but not electric) wheelchair, you are exempted from any work related requirements 8

The government wants to change this, either to remove the mobilisation criteria completely, or to reduce the number of points that a person gets as a result of having such difficulties, making it more likely they will be found to be able to engage in work preparation activities.9

This is absolutely ridiculous, it doesn't matter how somebody is categorised, the functional impact of any disability doesn't change just because a government minister THINKS it can be mitigated without any actual knowledge of how realistic it is. 10

Next, we come to the shocking plans for changes to the way in which people who are incontinent are going to be treated. I should point out that for the WCA, uses of collection devices such as the bag that I use are taken into consideration. Under the current system, a person...11

Has limited capability for work related activity if they are found to experience loss of control bladder or bowel control necessitating a change of clothing at least once a week. Under the new proposals, this could potentially be changed to at least once a day. Again,..12

How ridiculous? Working from home does not stop people from having accidents and needing to clean themselves up, which in many cases may require the assistance of another person. Needing to do this when you're supposed to be working is likely to be both embarrassing and...13

Anxiety inducing, not to mention hardly likely to lead to increased productivity which seems to be another overarching aim of the proposals. In my personal case, I can confirm that it is very embarrassing if my bag fails for whatever reason And this often requires...

Both parents to be involved in the cleanup operation. While I'm not incontinent in the sense that I have no control, once my bag is full, it needs emptying and I cannot do this myself. Also I cannot get to the toilet for a 2 without the assistance of another... 15

(Extremely well trusted) individual and after the necessary actions have been completed, I need someone to wipe, which isn't very pleasant for either me or them. Hardly something conducive to a working environment, unless would be expected for my parents to be...16

Available 100% of the time when I was supposed to be working. Which of course is very far from reasonable.

There are some other descriptors which the government is seeking to change including the criteria for whether a person would be at serious risk to themselves or others...17

If there were not found to be completely unfit for work. Again, the government believes that this criterion has been applied to broadly based solely on the raw numbers and not the actual circumstances of the individuals concerned, I won't make a full analysis of this because..18

I don't believe my personal knowledge of this particular area is should be noted that these changes will only impact new claimants and those who get reassessed from 2025, and then the WCA is due to be scrapped altogether a couple of years later...19sufficient.It

It seems that the Tories or utterly desperate to claw back money from disabled people and this is the way they are planning to do it. They really do believe that we have no value unless we are able to function as economic units, which is truly soul destroying. 20

Also, the plan for tailored support for all those asked (coerced) into preparing for work doesn't seem to match up with reality. How can JobCentre staff realistically provide support for every individual's unique circumstances? In reality, I don't think this will happen... 21

Leading to more people with physical and mental health conditions falling through the cracks in the system. I haven't touched upon mental health conditions much during my analysis, mainly because as I mentioned earlier, I don't think my knowledge base is sufficient. 22

So, there you have it my take on the latest reform plans for disability benefits. It's not really about helping people want to work get more support, they could do that by signposting those who want it towards completely optional employment support. But of course they won't...23

Because this is really all about saving money at the expense of the whole thing will be in of sick and disabled people. It is completely wrong and we must fight it! #DisabilityRights

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