Welfare Reform Bill

Our response to the Welfare Reform Green Paper

In the green paper it says that they want to get more people off benefits and into work. 

 

 

 

The first point is that with all the small groups shutting because of lack of funding more people will be losing their jobs and going onto benefits. It says for the reforms to work, there needs to be a change in how society views disabled people. It's also how the work market sees disabled people too. Every thing has to be slick professional and done as quick as possible so even contracts to put things into Easy Read go to big corporate companies of organisations for disabled people. This is taking work away from disabled people.

There is a fear that to get people with learning difficulties off benefits they will be forced to take any job offered them, and if they do not then their benefits will be cut.

Work that people see suitable for people with learning difficulties is always dead end jobs that are very low paid and things that are seen as that no one else wants to do.

 

As people with learning difficulties with the right support we are better than dead end, no-one wants jobs but society see us as shelf stackers, trolley pushers and washer-uppers. We have a big problem with getting support in work. Even Access To Work - a thing set up to help disabled people puts barriers in front of us getting a job. It is so hard to get enough support to do our job or even get paid work.

Employers need to be informed that Access To Work exists so it will encourage them to employ us.

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