Taking away crucial support will "make things worse"

In response to the government’s Modernising Support Green Paper, Dr Sarah Hughes, Chief Executive of Mind, said:

“The PIP assessment is already an incredibly difficult process, and we are hearing from people living with mental health conditions that they are deeply concerned about the government’s proposed reforms. Taking away crucial financial support from people with mental health problems is not going fix anything, it will make things worse.

“This country is facing complex problems. Millions of people are struggling because of years of underinvestment in mental health services, rising poverty and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, while 1.9 million people sit on waiting lists for mental health support.

“We will not allow the government to paint people with mental health problems who are not well enough to work as somehow taking the easy route. And we will not allow people with mental health problems to carry the can for failures of the system. If the government was serious about supporting people with mental health problems back to work, it would prioritise investment in our overstretched mental health service.”