It’s no secret the UK’s welfare system is regularly letting down society’s most vulnerable in their hour of need.
Social security is supposed to be a safety net that we can all rely on if needed.
But since the Tories took power at Westminster in 2010 the party has set about making the benefits system as complicated and off-putting as possible.
Drew Hendry MP has highlighted the example of Personal Independence Payments (PIP) to show just how difficult it is for vulnerable people to get the help they need.
It’s a vital benefit offered to people under the state pension age with a disability, long-term illness or mental health condition who need help completing daily tasks inside their home or getting around outside it.
Yet people are left waiting more than four months before they find out if their application has been successful.
That time period doesn’t include the appeals process, which can extend matters even further if the first application is rejected.
Those who have tried claiming disability benefits tell of a benefits assessment process that is hostile, discriminatory and degrading with claimants asked to perform physical tests despite being in visible pain.
This can’t be the sort of welfare system a civilised country in the 21st century should be operating.
The Government must put the needs of people ahead of its ideological hatred of benefit claimants.
