by A blind woman with a complex disability was denied benefits because she managed to travel to the interview with the help of her mother, she said The Observer.
Charlotte Easton was assessed for another benefit claim in a phone call, and the Department for Work and Pensions then gave her decision by sending her a printed letter that she could not read.
Sense, a charity for disabled people, says these types of experiences are common, after surveying 1,001 people with complex disabilities, defined as those with two or more conditions such as visual or hearing impairment or a learning disability .
The research found that 43% were repeatedly contacted by the DWP in a format that did not meet their needs, even though they had previously told the Department how to contact them.
More than half (51%) said they felt humiliated by going through the benefits process and 45% said it made symptoms of the condition worse. Of those who received support, 51% said their benefit payments did not cover the extra costs they face as a result of being disabled and more than a third were behind on energy bills.
Easton is 40 and lives in Hertfordshire with her brother, who acts as her carer. She is blind and hearing impaired and has been diagnosed with Pfeiffer syndrome, a genetic condition that affects her skull, and hydrocephalus. She cannot leave home without help and employers were not interested in her, so she applied for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and had to travel to Archway in north London to be assessed.
“They asked how I got there,” she said. “My mother said we had gone on the train, and she had to guide me and make sure people didn’t bump into me and all that kind of stuff.
“Because mom could get me there, they basically said that toand because I used to have dogs and let them in the garden, it meant ‘you are more than capable of working’.”
She was assessed for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a phone call and was accepted and the decision was given in a printed letter which her mother had to read to her. She believes her mother asked the DWP to contact her by braille letters or by email, which she can access with a screen reader. all the time.
“It bothers me,” she said. “My mother tried to appeal against it [the ESA decision] but nothing came of it. I said I couldn’t go on through things like that. As much as life could be easier with money, my life would be easier without the stress of trying to fight for it.”
She is working with a communication guide, who takes her out once a week. “She’s trusted me enough now that I won’t hold her – I’ll hold my hand against her as we walk. I now use my cane which I never had the confidence to use before.” Easton recently discovered that there were guides and now hopes to run a marathon. “I started last week and I was really impressed because I didn’t fall out.”
Sense says the government should reform the benefits system to make it fully accessible, with an application process as simple as possible for people with disabilities and benefit rates that allow them to afford basic needs.
Richard Kramer, chief executive of Sense, said: “Our research has revealed serious flaws in the benefits system – for which disabled people are paying the price. because of their benefit assessments.”
Many charities and disability campaigners have criticized the benefits system, saying vulnerable claimants have been forced into hardship after being unfairly denied help. In 2020, there was outrage when it emerged that Errol Graham, a man with severe mental illness, died of starvation in 2018, eight months after his disability benefits ended.
In May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission launched an investigation into the DWP and successive secretaries of state, on suspicion of breaking equality law over their treatment of disabled people and those with severe mental illness.
The chair of the EHRC, Kisher Falkner, said at the time that she was “deeply concerned” and felt they needed “the strongest possible action”.
Last month, Liz Kendall, the new work and pensions secretary, published 31 reports which she said were suppressed by her Conservative predecessors, including one which showed that two-thirds of benefit claimants were not in debt. able to buy food.
The work ability assessment, which is used to decide who gets ESA, is expected to be reformed or replaced as early as 2025 as part of the government’s ambition to reduce the benefits bill. Campaigners are nervous about what that means. Under Rishi Sunak, the government consulted on changes to PIP that would mean replacing the cash benefit with a one-off voucher or grant scheme and the new administration is examining the responses.
The DWP said it was unable to comment on Easton’s case because not enough details had been given to investigate – Easton did not want to give her national insurance number to the Department’s media team.
A spokesman said: “Millions of people rely on our welfare system every year and it is vital that everyone who needs it has access.
“That’s why we will work closely with people with disabilities to reform the current system so that it provides the support they need.”
