I am a 62-year-old man who has been disabled for the last eight years after working all my life. I lived in Herefordshire, so was on the “legacy benefits” system of income support, and my wife is my full-time carer. With the legacy benefits we were on, I also received the enhanced disability premium and the capped protection benefit. I also have an ongoing award for the highest rate of personal independence payment (PIP) in both categories. This is due to several issues striking at once, leaving me in a power chair and relying on my wife for normal day-to-day activity.
We moved to Abergavenny in August, to a bungalow that would make my life much easier. And that’s when it all came tumbling down around us. We had to change over to universal credit, which means I have to have another assessment for my work capabilities, despite my consultant writing in a letter to my GP that, in his opinion, the possibility of me ever working again was extremely limited. This also means my disability premiums stopped, along with the income guarantee. In monetary terms this amounted to £350 per month.
The private company carrying out these assessments on behalf of the government is way behind – so we are already at week 14 with no date set for the assessment. So far, as a couple, we are £1,220 poorer. We are now having to sell our possessions – such as my wife’s jewellery, my phone, my watch and even furniture – just to be able to keep warm and eat.
We are not alone. There are many disabled people unable to work in the same situation. All I hear is that universal credit is doing everything to help people into work, but what about those who can’t?
The system is failing us miserably and has been for years, but now it’s become barbaric in its execution. Is this really a society that would rather be rid of disabled people by killing them off?
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