Charities attack government's 'dangerously misleading' benefit claims statistics

Fifty charities have hit out at the government for using ‘dangerously misleading’ benefit claims statistics that are contributing to hatred towards disabled people.

The call comes days after the Work and Pensions Committee chastised the government for its use of the media when releasing such statistics.

Last week the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) released the latest set of figures showing just 24% of new applicants for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) were found eligible for the benefit.

However the following day the Committee published a report into the re-assessment process for those currently claiming Incapacity Benefit that was followed up by a strongly worded letter from the Committee to Chris Grayling MP, the Employment Minister, further discussing the point.

But the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC), a national coalition of over 50 different charities, has now gone further, targeted the government's statistics and suggesting they are dangerously misleading and contributing to hatred and violence towards disabled people by portraying them as cheats and scroungers.

Hayley Jordan, from the DBC and MS Society, said: "Hours after an important committee of cross-party MPs condemned irresponsible and inaccurate portrayal of benefits claimants, DWP statistics led to more reports wrongly labeling people as ‘faking'.

"Disabled people are very disappointed that the government is refusing to ensure accurate reporting and may be contributing to stigmatisation, victimisation and exclusion."

The DBC also said that independent reviews, charities, and the Work and Pensions Committee have all now told the Government that the figures for new ESA benefit claims mask the true level of capacity to work and that the assessment system used is ineffective, over-expensive and is denying many disabled people the support they need to get and keep work.

It added that ‘charities are also concerned that welfare reform is supposed to deliver help to disabled people to get and keep work but this appears to be rescinding.

'The government's misleading statistics on benefit claimants was published the same day as it was revealed the number of disabled people using ‘Access to Work' had fallen.'

Steve Winyard, of the DBC and Royal National Institute for the Blind, added: "The government must ensure appropriate support is available to disabled people to get and keep work.

"It is very worrying that some support has dropped in the last year. Sadly, the language to describe disabled people needing support has become more offensive and this also contributes to barriers to work as employers suspect genuinely disabled people of faking or being work-shy."