Green Paper Discussion (from 24th March, 2025)

I'll quote a passage from above.

"Disabled people are not a burden — we are valuable contributors to society when given the opportunity. Companies that employ disabled people thrive and become more profitable. That is a fact. Closing the disability employment gap by just half would inject £17 billion into the UK economy through increased tax revenue and reduced welfare dependency. That too is a fact. The Treasury is fully aware of this, yet it has chosen to back these cuts. That is disgraceful.

Scope’s governing documents make it clear that we are not a political organisation and must remain impartial. I respect this position. However, I have close friends in all three major political parties, and all of them are equally astonished and ashamed by this government’s actions and its loss of moral direction.

By speaking out, I may be asked to step down as Chair of Scope. If that happens, so be it. I stand by my words. If this is to be my final statement in this role, then I am proud that it is on behalf of Scope. Scope is the only organisation unwavering in its commitment to an equal future for disabled people. It is the only organisation tackling the challenges and opportunities that affect the largest minority group in the world.

Sir Robin Millar is chairman of disability equality charity Scope"

There was an interesting article in the Times (a paper I generally wouldn't read because of previous attitudes to autism) about the untapped resource of ND people, from the perspective of why we are being kept down/prevented from working. More of that media and less of the other would be appreciated.

I was thinking about the plan to put the PIP points thing through primary legislation and make it law so it can't be challenged from an equality perspective. But surely even if they did do that, that wouldn't enshrine the particular criteria in law, nor the way in which the points were assigned. There would still, surely, be opportunities to challenge the legality of the criteria, given that putting such limits/requirements would mean discriminating against some disabled people whose conditions are not properly covered in the criteria.

I'm frustrated with the "everyone knows someone who is playing the system" squad, though. Their arguments are copypaste but they don't really make sense.

If they genuinely knew someone that was cheating, and were that outraged about it that they need to rant on social media, you'd think they'd have reported them to the DWP. The fact that official fraud figures are so low means that if they DID report these people, their accusations were proven to be unfounded. If there were that many people playing the system, then the fraud % would be higher. All it shows is the shocking level of disability awareness in the UK, which is the real thing that needs fixing.

The chair throwing is a symptom of the hate being fostered in the press.