I used to work as an assessor for personal independence payments (Pip). One day, I visited a gentleman who was terrified of losing his Pip. Despite his fear, he offered me tea, but only had a tiny amount of milk in his fridge. He was ashamed and started to cry. I called the local food bank to help him.
Now, I am an occupational therapist. On my to-do list is an appeal letter for a patient with Huntington’s disease, a complex, incurable condition. He scored zero on his Pip assessment, yet his neurological apathy and cognitive impairment affect his daily function. Proposed welfare cuts by Rachel Reeves and Liz Kendall (Report, 26 March) will severely impact his access to vital support.
The cuts will have unintended consequences on the health and social care system. Rehabilitation initiatives face budget cuts, reflecting a lack of understanding about rehabilitation and its commissioning. Key issues include a reduction in access to essential care and rehabilitation; community staff, including GPs, being overwhelmed with report production; claimants dealing with impersonal, ineffective support from faceless organisations; and employers misunderstanding health impacts on function, ignoring the Equality Act.
I am particularly concerned about the “right to try” work initiative lacking safeguards for those who cannot work, and so cannot take part. If rushed through, the health and social care system will degrade further. Safeguards are necessary to protect claimants and ensure we have informed welfare policies.
Alex Fisher
Alsager, Cheshire
• I am aggrieved that Labour has betrayed its roots. Why punish the core voters? Does the party seriously expect to have another term in government? I have always voted Labour. As a child I would be delivering leaflets at my father’s behest.
For the first time in my life, at 65, I went out door-knocking, a seriously difficult thing for me to do and one I never could get comfortable with.
Keeping the two-child benefit cap, punishing disabled people, and pensioners, of whom I am now one, and then giving out platitudes about breakfast clubs, a bowl of cereal and slice of toast perhaps. I cannot vote for Labour under Keir Starmer. I became a paid-up member a less than a year ago and now find myself in despair.
Kathleen Coleman
Creswell, Derbyshire
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