We need to be more aware of issues people are facing...
IF you are over 16 and have a disability or ill health, which means you are not able to work, you can apply for Employment and Support Allowance under a Work Capability Assessment.
Sounds simple enough doesn’t it? Or is this a system which sets some of the most vulnerable people in our society up to fail?
Most people would agree that claiming benefits you are not entitled to is wrong and that we need a system that identifies those who are able to work but choose not to. The important word is ‘choose.’
But do we focus more on making those who are most in need of support prove their need? Is it time we relied more on common sense and consideration rather than asking people to perform and categorise people with tick boxes?
Research shows that the extreme stress having to deal with multiple stigmas of being unemployed and having a mental health condition, learning disability or hidden disability can lead to the deterioration of a claimant’s condition.
The Equality Act 2010 classifies disability as having a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.
People with disabilities often face judgement, abuse and difficulty with everyday tasks, often created or made worse by structural obstacles and social barriers in our society.
How many times on social media do we read about people in wheelchairs being unable to get on or off trains due to lack of ramps of staff assistance? How many people are verbally abused in the street, on public transport and in social environments?
How often do we hear derogatory terms used to describe people, some words which have travelled through the generations but which have no place in a diverse, accepting and welcoming city such as ours?
No one should be called names and told they should have been drowned at birth, yet that is exactly what someone I know with autism was told in a social club.
Many people with learning and other disabilities would love the opportunity to work but face huge barriers to achieve this, barriers the Equality Act should prevent.
Only 47 per cent of people aged 16 to 64 with any type of disability in Great Britain are in paid work, while 74pc of people aged 16 to 64 in the general population in England are in paid work (ONS 2016).
Approximately 1.5 million people in the UK have a learning disability (Mental Health Foundation), while an estimated 22pc of all people in the UK have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010.
And approximately one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year (Mind). If nothing else, maybe we all need to look at ourselves, our attitudes and be more aware of the issues others around us may be facing.
#WeStandTogether will be holding their next ‘Difficult Dialogue’ event on Wednesday, January 16, from 6.30pm at Disability Stockport on the subject of ‘Disability Under Attack’. You can book a place for free at www. DisabilityUnderAttack.e