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If the government wants disabled people to work, it needs to understand the realities of our lives
The government is cutting disability benefits to reduce the welfare bill and get more disabled people back to work, but the proposed changes fail to help self-employed disabled people like me, says not-for-profit business owner and disability rights activist Lorraine Stanley.
There are more than 650,000 self-employed disabled people in England and Wales, and I’m one of them.
Being self-employed is hard (if you know, you know), but disabled people face even bigger hurdles compared to their non-disabled counterparts, and there are fewer available solutions. It’s hard to access quality advice, support and funding to make a success of this way of working.
Self-employment is often the only way that disabled people can access paid work. This is because it offers flexibility and control over how much we work, what work we do and where we work, which is not always possible in an employed role. We’re a growing group – up 39% since 2013.
So, I was disappointed to see that the government is offering little in the way of help to self-employed disabled people in its plans to overhaul disability benefits in a bid to save money.
A growing group
The government says it wants to help disabled people get into work, but at the same time, it’s failing to support them to be their own boss. It needs to remember that the solo self-employed contributed £366 billion to the UK economy last year.
In 2004, I caught a flu-type bug that later developed into ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) and fibromyalgia. I’m mostly housebound, and I work from my bed, which doubles as my office. My computer screen rests on an ‘arm’ above me, and I use a specialist electric wheelchair to access the outside world and in-person business events.
I’m the founder and CEO of Sex With A Difference (SWAD), a not-for-profit training organisation that specialises in disability and sex. When I first became ill, I found there was little information and support around intimacy and sex. I decided to set up SWAD so other disabled people would have a source of information and hope, and professionals would have somewhere to go with their questions.
It’s concerning to hear that the government’s flagship disability employment scheme, Access to Work, has been called “unlikely to be sustainable in the long term” by Sir Stephen Timms, the social security and disability minister. Yet a group of 30 cross-party MPs, led by Labour MP Marsha de Cordova, has said that the scheme is a lifeline for young people with learning disabilities.
Government support at risk
Access to Work offers support to help disabled people in employment and self-employment, including grants to overcome work-related barriers. It has already been subject to ‘hidden’ funding cuts, with services such as support workers for people in paid employment (including sight readers and BSL interpreters) no longer being offered, resulting in some disabled people having to leave their jobs. This makes little sense to me.
The government’s proposed reforms include not providing the health element of Universal Credit (financial support for disabled people or people with health conditions that limit their ability to work) for individuals under the age of 22. Currently, it’s for people aged 18 and over, but the extra costs that most disabled people face are not going to magically disappear between the ages of 18 and 21.
Disabled households need an extra £1,095 each month just to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households, according to Scope’s recent Disability Price Tag report.
The cost of living crisis, combined with increasing media coverage of politicians mixing up Personal Independence Payment with Universal Credit, means disabled people feel substantially more vulnerable. As a community, many of us are struggling to cope at the moment.
The main reason I’m able to work is due to my wheelchair-accessible home. I live in a fully adapted bungalow in the south-west of England, which is managed by a housing association. I feel very lucky to do so because there is such a shortage of accessible homes across the country.
I’ll never have to leave my home unless I choose to do so, which has had a really positive effect on both my physical and mental health. This home has stabilised my health enough for me to work part-time.
Accessible homes benefit everyone
I believe that everyone deserves to have a home that’s safe, healthy and meets their accessibility needs. This is why I joined Habinteg Housing Association’s insight group, which campaigns for more accessible housing. Accessible properties help older and disabled people live independently and safely. They benefit everyone, including young families with pushchairs, prams and anyone who has older people or friends with mobility issues visiting them.
Previously, things were much tougher. I’ve been within a whisker of being homeless four times. On each of those occasions, it was due to having an extremely low income, owing to a combination of disabilities and caring responsibilities, and landlords needing to sell their properties.
On one occasion, a few years ago, a landlord needed to sell the property I was renting from them. I finally managed to find a home to live in just three days before Christmas. The bailiffs handed the final eviction notice to the removal truck driver. My children were young at the time, and the stress of the situation was extremely high.
Every home move has caused ME relapses from which it took months to recover. Home removals fees and rent deposits hit me hard financially as well. I had to change local GP surgeries, so the continuity of my medical care was affected, and I had to learn wheelchair-friendly routes around a new area.
So, if the government wants to get disabled people into work, it needs to understand the realities of life for us and the daily barriers we face. It should not be cutting the very funding that enables us to succeed in employment and create thriving businesses.
Habinteg Housing Association
Chapman House Unit 1
Adwalton Business Park
132 Wakefield Road
Drighlington
Bradford, BD11 1DR
T 0300 365 3100
E direct@habinteg.org.uk
