Benefit cuts for disabled people – ‘worst yet to come’

Disabled people have yet to feel the full impact of the government’s programme for benefit cuts, a think-tank report highlights. Budget cuts have already had a significant effect but the Welfare Reform Act 2012 means more cuts are on the way.

Since 2010 Demos has been following the lives of six disabled households, and its report is based on their experiences of benefit cuts.

Key points

  • Measures in the 2012 Act will further reduce incomes over the next two years for disabled people and their families.
  • Cuts in income will have a human cost – increasing isolation and mental health problems and putting a greater burden on unpaid carers.
  • Official impact assessments need to take into account the cumulative impact of several cuts on individual households – not just individual cuts in isolation.
  • Until the government is able to understand the impact on households of multiple changes to benefits and services, the human cost of its austerity measures risks being overlooked.

Source: Claudia Wood, Destination Unknown: Summer 2012, Demos
LinksReport | Summary | Guardian report

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