The largest increases in claims for health-related benefits in recent years have been driven by rising claims from young people, and more than half of the rise since 2019 stems from an increase in claims relating to mental health or behavioural conditions.

The Department for Work and Pensions said it was delivering a £1bn support package to get people into work and increasing the basic rate of universal credit above inflation for the first time.

“Our reforms will ensure the most vulnerable and severely disabled people are supported to live with dignity, whilst making sure that everyone who can realise the benefits of work is expected and supported to do so,”

Says the DWP.

Britain’s got talent

Last night’s Britain’s Got Talent I watched mainly roving global talents land in Britain. There was a large group of British people who were either very young or the kind of people I hope are getting PIP. The person bringing these together into a clapping and singing event (which I liked a lot) was asked what he hoped from the appearance

“not to make this seem special”

he replied.

I agree, disabled and fully abled people should be getting on despite the difficulties and we should be finding ways to get those “partially abled” to work with us, which will be a challenge.

Why work matters to those in later life

It is possible to see benefits as able to offer people in later life a decent living. They may qualify , if unfit to carry out daily responsibilities, with pension credit and I don’t hear talk of pension credit being squeezed in the current benefit cuts.

So those who have lifetime afflictions are going to be supported by those who pay tax to pay for that support. This is right, it is what we should be thinking is a societal norm.

But do we think that working and paying tax is a duty on those who can do it but find it hard. I suspect that is where the Labour Government is and where I find myself too. I have to say that the puritan work ethic is strong in me and it’s partly because I think work keeps us purposed and mentally and physically strong.

But to go back to the chap organising the dancing of the disabled and the young, the point is that working together should not be “special”, we need to accept that work will include people who have mental and physical difficulties. We can’t exclude them from our lives. I think of the Liberal party leader as an example of someone who has made his life something he shares with family who have problems.

And the purpose for us to accept mental and physical problems , needs to be matched by such people who should want to earn and be a part of what paid work means in the UK. It means paying tax and it means building a pension for yourself (in most cases).

I do not think we should be shy about this. We should be surprised , not at integration but at the exclusion of adults of all working ages who are not working for whatever reason and we should support the Government’s plans to cut PIP (incapacity to work benefit) to those who can do paid and pensioned work but don’t want to.

I hard to say this, but I think it is what society should be working towards. We do not want to go back to Victorian standards where those who were not “normal” were sectioned, we want to go forward to including as many as we can in work while recognising that those who can’t be included in work, are properly cared for.

Here is the DWP as reported in the FT

“Our reforms will ensure the most vulnerable and severely disabled people are supported to live with dignity, whilst making sure that everyone who can realise the benefits of work is expected and supported to do so,” it said.

We are in danger of discouraging young people from aspiring to a life of work and a retirement of self-sufficiency. We cannot allow that to happen either within the family or within society.

I do not see much integration of disability into pension thinking and hope that this spring review by Reeves will spark a debate on what is “special” and what is “normal” about different levels of ability. We need to recognise different mental and physical capacities within the workplace as normal and have thought for support for those with low abilities both in our work and pension planning.