There is no doubt that the disability benefits system is broken – but not in the ways the government suggests (Editorial, 18 March). The current system is hostile, inefficient and difficult to navigate – often worsening the physical and mental health of claimants, through energy-depleting assessment and appeal processes, gaslighting and having to fight to be seen.
The government suggests that the way to get disabled people into work is to invest more in job coaches – as though the disabled community simply lack confidence to hunt for jobs. In reality, it is employers who lack confidence to take us on. To find one that can offer minimal hours (for someone with long Covid) or provide multiple sick days a month (for regular hospital visits) is almost impossible.
