Autumn statement 2025: How the budget will affect disabled people

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Comments

  • Trevor_PIP
    Trevor_PIP Online Community Member Posts: 747 Pioneering

    How does UK disability increases since lockdown compare to European countries?

    The UK's increase in disability benefits claims since the lockdown has been more pronounced than in other European countries. While the UK has seen a significant rise in claims, comparable countries like France and Norway have experienced a slight decrease in claims. Denmark, on the other hand, has seen a notable increase in claims, at 13%. This trend indicates that the UK's increase in claims is a unique phenomenon, driven by a combination of factors such as the onset of the pandemic and the subsequent rise in health-related benefits spending.

    Our information does not match again.... If the UK can afford the unprecedented increases in benefit spending - why are reforms imminent? The money needs to go to the NHS, mental health support, community support for disabilities etc etc.....

  • Catherine21
    Catherine21 Posts: 8,461 Championing

    I think disabled charities will get this information out to main stream media but unfortunately I think with all this about two child cap they wont be as many people sticking up for disabled when pip cuts come so we have to do what we did before blast them with emails the works they been proven mass liers

  • MW123
    MW123 Scope Member Posts: 1,717 Championing

    Thanks for sharing your experience, Trevor. I have to say I do not actually know any youngsters out of work myself. The ones I know are all in jobs, so I have never come across anyone turning down work. If anything, I think most youngsters are pretty savvy these days when they are job hunting. They are looking for the whole package, salary, private health cover, and all the fripperies we would never have dreamed of asking for.

    I see you took early retirement. I am due to retire next May officially and was asked to confirm by October if I would be staying on. I have asked for an extension until the end of January because honestly, I am still not sure. After four decades in the same profession, it is hard to picture having every day to myself with nothing to think about. My husband and I were the same age and we were meant to retire together, but he died six years ago after a very short illness, so it is not the same facing retirement on my own.

    Two colleagues a bit older than me retired at the normal age, but within a year they were back. They could not stand having nothing to do once the novelty wore off. In my workplace we have only got a handful of youngsters, but the average age is 60 plus, and one of our secretaries is 74 and still going strong. So there is definitely a mix of choices, but most of us are older workers.

    I have seen some of our members saying “why should disabled people be better off than working people.” In reality, most working people do not think like that. It is a myth pushed by the media. I have never heard anyone say people on benefits are better off. It is not something we would discuss. We would just assume that if someone is unemployed, sick or disabled, they would be looked after if they could not work.

    And just to clear up something else I have seen mentioned, which really is a myth, most cars on the road are not disability vehicles. Most new ones are actually company cars. Yes, you do get taxed on them, but they are still better value than Motability cars because you also get a petrol allowance. To put some numbers on it, company registrations made up about 63 per cent of the 1.95 million new car sales in 2024, which is roughly 1.23 million vehicles. By contrast, the Motability scheme leased around 300,000 new vehicles annually, which is about 15 per cent of new car sales.

    It looks like you and I have had quite different experiences, Trevor, but that’s the point of sharing them here. We all see things from our own angle and it’s good to learn from one another.

  • Catherine21
    Catherine21 Posts: 8,461 Championing

    Whoa says it all shows you how low this country is making seriously ill people worse we are psychologically bullied its sickening when you think theu go out of thier way to cause so much hate and divide and make people suffer i despise this government

  • MarkGibbons1
    MarkGibbons1 Online Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 24 Contributor

    The budget really doesn't do anything for me or most disabled people. I see that the government through the job centre want to support disabled people into work. Most disabled people I know want to work, we can get the job but need proper support to keep it.

    I know that their cutting back on access to work on what they fund. The support to stay in work is none existent or **** standard. I want to work but both my rheumatology specialist says my condition means I can't work as my spine and Neck are completely fused and can't move them. I have anyklonsing spondylitis.

    And then both my mental health worker and psychiatrist say because, I have server paranoid schizophrenia I can't wirk as I'm in psychosis a lit and my bad voices don't like anyone and I say things what their telling me to say woukd be asked in 1 minute.

    I have worked in the past had my own businesses been a support worker working with adults with learning disabilities.

  • Nightcity
    Nightcity Online Community Member Posts: 397 Empowering

    it certainly shows the unsustainable line isn't true, aside from being almost the lowest in amount spent, we also to the best of my knowledge are the only country consistently having the UN convention for disabled rights investigate and have a system described as showing "grave and systemic violations" in our treatment.

  • Catherine21
    Catherine21 Posts: 8,461 Championing

    Id say shameful but they have no shame hope your well

  • Trevor_PIP
    Trevor_PIP Online Community Member Posts: 747 Pioneering

    Thank you, as you know I like your posts. Slightly differing views I would say. What I have come across with the young is not widespread but it does happen.

    Yes, I got a chance to leave after the same working time period as you. I too was apprehensive as I liked my profession, but a family member was not well and I took the early retirement. It was strange walking away from my deck and computer for the last time, I took a long last look, turned and never looked back! The same with the company's electronic gates and the path I walked so many times as I left the company for the last time. Being honest, it is the best thing I have ever done! No regrets whatsoever. I am on a reduced pension but I can manage. Being honest, once I had left for while and got into doing what I like, I don't know now how I had time for work... You will find things to do, new things as well. New interests etc. Sorry about your situation over your husband by the way.

    Yes, friends left at the same time and ended up going back in another profession in a different division, some people can't retire. I could go back, they would be only to happy to do that in another area of the company, but not for me!!! You do miss the company with work colleagues initially but it wears off. Finally, if you want my thoughts on what you should do - leave!

    I agree with that comment that disabled people don't get paid more than working people, but there is a grey area with the National Basic Wage, but you need extra money with a disability.

    The number of new motability cars is not high I know that and what you state is correct. A councillor told me there are 800,000 motability cars.

    Slightly differing views but we can discuss them amicably.

  • Chris75_
    Chris75_ Online Community Member Posts: 4,019 Championing
    edited December 2

    People here can harp about it until blue in the face, but it's happening. The die is cast.

  • Richi_Poor
    Richi_Poor Online Community Member Posts: 1 Listener

    mate you are acting like a troll, what is your purpose here exactly? why are you on this forum, you don't sound like you are a disabled person with any concerns? the whole reason disabled benefits is a thing is because we are unable to go and earn the money that allows us to live any sort of life financially, if appliances broke how would we repair them or replace them, and cars like bmw are actually more reliable cars that is why many owned them, a disabled person whether physical or mental need reliable cars to get to where they need to at a moments notice, as a mental health sufferer if i did not have my car when a panic attack was gonna kick in i'd be screwed, so i have always had reliable cars and they have got me out of some serious problems in the past, and if you didn't know anyone who had cars like that on pip had to pay for them still! so go and troll elsewhere, vulnerable people don't need to come to this forum to have the likes of you making them feel worse than they already do.