Does the government really want to help this disabled find work? No!
The autumn statement was just a cynical attack on people like me, says James Moore – and we’re not fooled by Jeremy Hunt’s threat to deny us benefits either
In the run-up to the autumn statement, Britain’s disabled and long-term sick were reminded of their “duty” to find work. The government’s much-heralded Back to Work scheme would be as much about improving productivity and ensuring “fairness for the taxpayer” as it would help the long-term ill find appropriate employment.
On the day, Jeremy Hunt billed new government measures to “tear down barriers to work” for millions of benefits claimants as “help” and “assistance” – did I even hear an “untapped potential” in there somewhere?
But after unveiling the “biggest set of welfare reforms in a decade”, the chancellor was accused of “punishing” disabled people to pay for his proposed tax cuts.
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