| “Any difficulty people are experiencing now isn’t new,” says Frances. “It comes after over a decade of incredibly tough, impoverishing years.” Fourteen years of cost-cutting benefits policies under successive Conservative governments have left disability benefit claimants facing significant hardship. But does Labour have a plan to remedy the problem? Why is it hard to get someone on the phone? The issues raised in the public accounts committee report have been around for years without being properly addressed. One key factor behind the long wait times is the DWP’s shift to a digital-first system, which has proved challenging for those without reliable internet access. “A lot of claimants can’t easily use digital communication, so they resort to traditional methods like the telephone – which, of course, requires people to answer,” says Patrick. “But, like all large bureaucracies, the DWP is under immense pressure to cut staff, so fixing this issue won’t be quick or easy.” AI and automation promise a system that runs without human administrators, but no matter how advanced the technology, “you still need to make qualitative judgments about a person’s entitlement to disability benefits,” Patrick adds. The public accounts committee also highlights another problem: the complexity and length of the application process, particularly for personal independence payments (Pip), claimed by 3.6 million people nationwide. Many of these people are trying to get assistance to apply which extends wait times further. Disability campaigners note that for vulnerable claimants, the lack of support makes an already difficult process even harder. The impact When people are unable to access the welfare they are entitled to, it can be “crushing”, says Frances. The financial hardship that follows means disabled people are more likely to rely on food banks and be pushed into desititution. But these barriers have wider ripple effects, too, particularly on claimants’ mental health. Research by the disability charity Sense found that almost half of people with complex disabilities say the benefits application process is so stressful that it worsens their condition. “It’s hard to grasp unless you’ve been reliant on state support just how vulnerable and powerless you can feel,” Frances says. “All you can do is get on the phone and desperately ask for help.” In many cases, these benefits are the primary way that people are able to pay for essentials like food, energy and the extra costs of disability. “You are completely dependent on an organisation that isn’t doing its job, and you have almost no power to change that,” she adds. The government’s stance During the election campaign, Keir Starmer pledged to “never turn our backs on people who are struggling”. However, his approach to tackling poverty focuses on moving more people into work and reducing reliance on benefits – ultimately cutting the welfare bill rather than increasing financial support for those that need it. “The Treasury is making it clear that fiscal discipline will take priority over anything else,” says Patrick. The controversial decision to means-test the winter fuel allowance reflects the government’s willingness to stick with divisive measures to meet its financial targets. Another looming issue is the planned £3bn cut to incapacity benefits. The Treasury has confirmed that these reductions – introduced by the previous government – will proceed, with changes set to take effect from September. A judge recently ruled that an official consultation setting out the proposals was misleading and unlawful. The quickest way to make such large-scale cuts is through “crude reductions in eligibility”, Patrick explains. “Fewer people will qualify, and those already claiming will see their entitlements shrink.” This could mean more than 400,000 incapacity benefit claimants losing £416 a month. “At that point,” Patrick warns, “you’re effectively driving people into poverty – or even deeper into it.” This mix of compassionate rhetoric and harsh policy choices risks making the government seem “wildly disingenuous,” Frances says. “If nobody really knows what your principles or intentions are, it only fuels the deep distrust people already feel – understandably – towards politicians.” Fraud crackdown The DWP has often pointed to fraud as a key reason why they have not been able to properly address the issue of underpayments. And there is a kernel of truth to this. Since the pandemic there has been an increase in benefits fraud. However, disability benefit fraud has remained about 1%, and rather than lazy individuals sponging off the state, much of the rise is actually due to organised crime groups exploiting weaknesses in the digital universal credit system. The public accounts committee has criticised what it called the department’s “dangerous mindset”, insisting that its priority should be to “improve its defences and ensure benefit claimants receive the right amount of money” rather than penalising individuals in need. Frances also highlights how the government often conflates fraud with error, making them seem interchangeable when they are fundamentally different. Errors can result from claimants unintentionally failing to report a change in circumstances or from mistakes made by the DWP itself. “This government talks a lot about not abandoning people on disability or incapacity benefits,” says Patrick. “But the problem is that so much of this is framed around getting people off benefits to make cuts,” which will likely only make peoples quality of life worse. | 