Softening up British public opinion prior to the governments health and disability benefits Green Paper in the Spring appears to have begun, with a shamefully inaccurate and prejudicial Channel 4 Dispatches episode entitled "Britain’s Benefits Scandal" screened last night.
The programme was researched, and is presented by, Fraser Nelson the former editor of the right-wing Spectator magazine. The opening lines set the tone for what follows:
“Across the UK a crisis is building that affects us all. More than 3 million people are now on long-term sickness benefits, up by about a million in just five years. And these figures are set to get far worse.”
In Salford, we are introduced to a claimant who whose mental health issues are now managed by medication. He’s living in a hostel, but wants a job, a flat, a family and friends. He’s signed up for a plastering course but, fails to turn up on the first day. When Nelson meets up with him again he explains that he was warned by the Jobcentre that if he started the training it would be classed as work and he would lose his benefits, so he decided to drop the plan.
In Manchester we meet a claimant who is alcohol dependent and says he’s been unemployed for years. He’s filmed in a CAB being helped to complete his UC50 form in order to be able to claim benefits as incapable of work. He tells the advisor that he came by taxi and “I’ve had like six or seven cans this morning before I even function”
The CAB advisor tells him, “Based on my experience you should have a reasonable prospect of succeeding and being placed into the highest group.”
A claimant more likely to provoke outrage amongst Daily Mail readers would have been hard to find.
We also encounter Shane, a 57 year old part-time window cleaner who has knee and back problems and depression. Whilst his son was successful in his claim, Shane’s has failed the work capability assessment and has lodged an appeal. Shane says he found out more about sickness benefits on Tik Tok than from the Jobcentre.
The camera follows him as he puts flyers through letter boxes, washes windows and climbs up and down ladders. Nelson’s crew are also on the spot as he undergoes his unsuccessful telephone appeal.
As well as following claimants, Nelson also meets people with their own explanation for why there has been a big increase in health and disability benefits claims.
Sarah is a nurse who until recently worked as a DWP assessor. She worries that the system is too open to abuse. She claims she went on Google and typed in a few words and “found the words to say to essentially get a full benefit”, what she calls “the keywords”.
Or, as Nelson explains it, people will be Googling and finding out “what’s the phrase that pays”.
“Absolutely” Sarah responds “Just tell them that you’re suicidal . . If at any point someone said that they were suicidal every day, straight away in that high [category]”
We are then given a brief glimpse of the world of “sickfluencers”, people who give tips on claiming benefits on Tik Tok and Youtube.
Then we visit Michael, who used to work for an assessment company, though in what role it’s not quite clear.
He explains that “People were encouraged to do six cases a day and if you did any more than that you would get £80 per case. If the claimant met the highest category then the assessment could be curtailed early, which would allow them to fit in more cases per day.”
So, assessors are allegedly placing people in the limited capability for work-related activity group in order to increase the assessor’s own earnings.
Gavin, in Shoreham-by-Sea has been a taxi driver for over 30 years. He had to stop work after a heart operation and claimed benefits. Eventually he began driving again part-time and still claiming benefits. He now wants to go back to full-time work and stop claiming.
But when he contacted the DWP and said he was ready to come off benefits, he says they told him they couldn’t alter his award. Instead, he would have to wait until he was reassessed. That was three years ago.
Gavin claims to be still trapped working part-time, but earning the same money as he would be working full-time, because of his benefit award. He came on the programme “to highlight how bad things are”.
Fortunately, Nelson was also able to tell Liz Kendall, secretary of state for work and pensions about Gavin’s dilemma. She shook her head sorrowfully, and promised “Give me his number and I’ll sort it”.
Kendall was actually given a lot of airtime in this programme. At one point, on the basis of no evidence or details whatsoever, Nelson tells her “We’ve heard lots of promises of reform for many, many years, but you’re talking about a revolution.”
“I am talking about a revolution.” Kendall responds. “When you’ve got a system that isn’t working for anyone, you need big change...I believe in work, and that everybody who can work should work. But my argument is, people are crying out for help and support and it’s the government’s duty to deliver that.”
She goes on to say that “The absolute key issue is this: we need to put together a package of measures here which really meets the challenges that we face. Not simply, you fall out of the workplace, you’re written off. You’re categorised as ‘can work’ or ‘can’t work’ and then left. That isn’t working for people or for taxpayers.”
Unfortunately, we won’t know what that revolution looks like before the Green Paper is published next Spring, although the WCA does seem to be getting a lot of bad press from the DWP.
But what claimants can be reasonably sure of, is that there will be plenty more ill-researched and prejudicial publicity of this sort before that paper lands. The channel that brought us The Truth About Disability Benefits in collaboration with the Disability News Service three years ago, should be - but won't be - ashamed.
