Welfare support calls surge as government’s planned reforms to benefits announced
Three leading charities - Mind, Scope and Citizens Advice - are reporting a surge in contacts from people worried about the impact of proposed benefits changes. The charities have seen a big increase in demand following the government’s welfare green paper.
The charities say people are extremely worried about what the changes will mean for them, how they’ll be able to cover the cost of living and the impacts this will have on their physical and mental health.
Scope’s online community saw 20,000 interactions on the day the government published its plans for disability benefits cuts (March 18) compared to 15,000 on Tuesday before (March 11). And its helpline saw a near 200% increase in calls to 344 on March 18, up from 118 on March 11.
Last week, the number of calls to Mind’s welfare advice line doubled compared to the week before (up to 182 from 90), with advisers reporting some people saying they felt so worried about the situation they'd be left with no choice but to end their own life. The charity’s other information and support lines received over 2540 calls, over 10% up on the previous week. Mind’s benefits and money advice advice pages received 6,142 visits, 15% above average levels, while its online Side by Side service saw 50 posts about benefit changes compared to just 11 in the previous week.
Citizens Advice saw views of its Personal Independence Payment (PIP) advice pages surge to nearly 80,000 views last week (March 17-23), an increase of 44% from the week before.
The charities are urging the government to rethink its planned changes and cuts to welfare and to invest in independent advice and support services.
Paul Stewart, Welfare Benefits Specialist at South East London Mind, said:
“The people we help are scared. Many were already facing serious financial and health challenges and these proposed changes just add another layer of distress. People are telling me they don’t know how they will cope, physically, financially and mentally. Not only that, but they feel under attack, stigmatised and that the legitimacy of their conditions is being called into question.
“I worry that cutting benefits will just deepen the mental health crisis in this country, drive people into poverty and push people further away from work. I’d urge the government to listen to organisations working in the community and to the people we support - it is not too late to rethink these proposals.”
Scope’s Helpline Programme Lead Laura Canning said:
“We have seen a huge increase in demand to Scope’s helpline. Disabled people are worried sick by these brutal plans to cut disability benefits. Call after call we are hearing from disabled people who simply don’t know how they will cope.
“We are hearing from disabled people who fear they will no longer be able to afford their wheelchair or to pay for their carers. People who wouldn’t be able to afford to travel to vital doctors’ and hospital appointments.
“Disabled people are frightened that they will be robbed of their independence and driven into poverty. They feel abandoned by the government.
“The government must listen to these harrowing stories from disabled people and think again. If they don’t the consequences of these cuts will be catastrophic.”
Tom MacInnes, Director of Policy at Citizens Advice, said:
"Even before these cuts were announced we knew millions of disabled people were living on a financial knife edge, just £20 away from crisis. Slashing these essential benefits will only make life tougher for people who are already struggling.
“If people lose vital support then it is very likely they will suffer mental and physical health issues as a result. If you’re in poor accommodation, or you’re skipping meals to pay the bills, this will have a detrimental impact on your health.”
For help and support, you can contact our Infoline or Samaritans.
