This talk describes how the UK government cuts are targeted on disabled people and the poor - and it provides a manifesto for genuine welfare reform.

1. A Fair Society
and the rights of disabled people
Dr Simon Duffy ￭ The Centre for Welfare Reform ￭
for Sheffield Green Party & the Campaign for a Fair
Society ￭ 14th December 2011

2. Dr Simon Duffy
• Director of The Centre for Welfare Reform
- independent R&D network based in Sheffield
• Honorary Senior Research Fellow at University
of Birmingham’s Health Service Management
Centre
• Policy advisor to The Campaign for a Fair
Society

3. The Campaign for a Fair Society
• Beginnings - began on 8th February 2011 by
people horrified at the likely impact of the
Spending Review
• Members - Over 1,000 individuals and 100
organisations are members.
• UK-wide - There are Scottish, Welsh & English
Steering Groups - connected federally in a UK
group.
• Communications - information on web, twitter,
facebook etc - www.campaignforafairsociety.org

4. Core
Values
Everyone is equal, no matter their
differences or disabilities. A fair society
sees each of its members as a full
citizen - a unique person with a life of
their own. A fair society is organised
to support everyone to live a full life,
with meaning and respect.

5. The challenge
• The cuts have targeted disabled people
• The impact will be dramatic
• Reflecting long-standing problems
• It’s time to shift the debate...

6. The real targets of the cuts...

9. Protected Cut
Pensions Social Care
Healthcare Disability Benefits
Education Social Housing
£350 billion out of £500 £50 billion
Universal, mainstream, for Special, marginal, ‘the
‘ordinary people like us’ poor & unfortunate’
Delivered by centralised Delivered by complex
systems with high visibility systems with low visibility

10. Cuts are organised as a pincer attack:
• Cuts to social care
• that can be blamed on local
or national governments
• Cuts in direct income
• that can be hidden within
efforts to ‘reform’ the
current system

11. Attack 01: social care cuts
Approximately 1.5 million children and adults, including older
people, receive social care each year in the UK because of
significant disabilities. This group face social care cuts from:
• Cuts to local government funding and funding for Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Cuts to Supporting People funding
• Termination of Independent Living Fund
Note that:
• Local government, by 2014, will have been cut by >20%
• Social care is biggest role for local government (>40%)
• 37% of all cuts fell on local government (excluding education)
despite accounting for only 6.6% of central spending
• over the long-run local government funding has been behind
other public services

12. Central control - local weakness...
UK is the most centralised welfare state in the world

13. social care cuts will mean:
• Higher eligibility - many people lose support
• Less prevention - crises, institutions and abuse
• Increased charges - increased poverty
• Cuts to local services - fewer options
• Reduced individual budgets - below sufficiency
• Reduced flexibility in budgets - limit creativity
• Increased contracting out - weaken local market
• Reduced wages for staff

14. Attack 02: cuts to income
Benefits, tax credits and pensions take up c.£185 billion per year, c.
18% of GDP. The major changes planned include:
• Rolling income support benefits into Universal Credit
• Rolling disability benefits into Personal Independent Payments
• Cuts to Housing Benefit and Mortgage Interest Relief
Already:
• £6 billion a year to be saved by weaker indexation
• Stricter medical tests by ‘incentivised’ provider (ATOS)
• Planned reductions in hyper-taxation on poor will be paid for by
reducing benefit incomes rather than increasing DWP spending
NB: The poor can be very poor indeed - the poorest must live on
£2,780 per year - compared to mean household income of £50,000
per year (<6%).

15. Does the government hate disabled people?

16. NO, but...
1.These cuts are easier to hide than others
and systems are poorly understood
2.Disabled people are a small group who
are not well organised
3.There is media and public fear and
prejudice to build on
4.Direct cutting can be forced onto political
enemies
5.Politicians must pander to electorate

17. Was the old system fair and sensible?

18. No, on-going problems...
1.Weak framework of rights
2.Weak system of entitlements
3.Crisis-led service system
4.Disempowering systems
5.Segregation from ordinary life
6.Poverty and poor incentives to work
7.Charging that taxes disabled people

19. The Campaign is now drafting...
UK manifesto for
a Fair Society
...the Campaign for a Fair Society

20. 1. Human rights
• UN Convention on Rights of Disabled
People as law in all parts of the UK
• Rights that can be backed by the courts,
includes
• ...equal right with other citizens to
choose their place of residence and
where and with whom they live.
• ...services including personal assistance
necessary to support living as part of the
wider community.

21. 2. Objective entitlement
• Cost of health and social care is >£130
billion
• Private social care is £3.5 billion (2.7%)
• LA charging and top-ups is £2.3 billion
(1.8%)
• Health & social care divide makes no
sense in an era of personalisation
• Courts use ‘natural justice’

22. 3. Early support
• Family support is counted against you
• Families are encouraged to break down
• Families are disrespected
• Crisis support is expensive and
institutional

23. 4. Right to control
• People make the best decisions
• Current restrictions are burdensome
and confusing
• Individual or personal budgets are being
corrupted
• Why is an entitlement ‘public money’?

24. 5. Against segregation
• People need access to all the ordinary
opportunities available to citizens...
• Housing
• Education
• Work
• Leisure
• Need to end subsidies for segregation

25. 6. Income security
• The poorest 10% of households have an
income of £6,500
• Of which 47% is paid in taxes - highest
rate of any decile
• The poor often face marginal tax rates
of 100%
• Only sensible solution is universal
minimum income and fair taxes

26. 7. Against charging
• Charging is special tax that is levied
only on disabled people
• It punishes people on very low incomes
and benefits
• It encourages people to be poor
• It is expensive to organise
• It raises very little money

27. sign up at:
www.campaignforafairsociety.org

28. For more information go to
www.centreforwelfarereform.org
These slides are © Simon Duffy 2011 ￭ Publisher is The
Centre for Welfare Reform ￭ Slides can be distributed subject
to conditions set out at www.centreforwelfarereform.org ￭