Does Labour's first budget do enough for families in hardship?
Labour’s first Budget in 14 years took some steps towards supporting low-income families – but it hasn’t gone far enough to help families forced into hardship by sickness, or address rising child poverty.
Today, the Chancellor announced measures to join up health and employment support, reduce the impact of Universal Credit debt repayments on low-income families, and enable carers to earn more in Labour's Autumn Budget. These are all welcome steps, which we have been calling for.
But the Chancellor avoided addressing the main drivers of rising child poverty: the two-child limit and benefit cap. It has also made a deeply disappointing decision to tighten access to sickness benefits. This means that child poverty will inevitably continue to rise.
The government’s mission to “Get Britain Working” must prioritise the needs of struggling families and be rooted in positive engagement and support, not punitive conditionality and compliance.
Alice Woudhuysen, Head of Campaigns and Public Affairs
When sickness or disability prevents a parent from working, family life can be almost impossible to manage. Parents must make the hundred daily decisions needed to keep a family going on a low-income and manage their own health - all while navigating a complex, inadequate, and frequently hostile benefits system. This can pose the risk of pushing even more children into child poverty.
We estimate there are around 800,000 parents in the UK receiving financial support through the benefits system due to a health condition or disability that affects their ability to work.
In our latest Sick and tired report, we explored the hardships faced by sick and disabled parents relying on sickness benefits. We surveyed 1,130 parents who rely on these benefits and spoke to parents in-depth about their experiences.
Key findings from 'Sick and tired'
- Only 12% of parents on sickness benefits are keeping up with all bills and credit commitments without any difficulties, while almost three in 10 are falling behind on bills.
- Half of parents receiving sickness benefits reported feeling down or depressed in the previous month.
- 30% of parents have felt pressured to enter work before they’re ready and over a quarter do not feel listened to by the Department for Work and Pensions (26%).
- As many as four in 10 out-of-work parents receiving sickness benefits think they could return to paid work in the future, but this is highly dependent on their health improving and getting better support from the government and employers.
What we're calling for
- An end to the unfair two-child limit and benefit cap, which drive families into hardship.
- Specialist advisors in the new Jobs and Careers Service to lead contact with parents facing complex barriers to employment, as part of a joined-up local offer.
- Effort by the NHS, employers and a reformed DWP, to give people the flexibility and support they need to move back into work, if their health allows.
'Sick and Tired': A look at the hardships and work prospects of sick and disabled parents relying on incapacity benefits
The application for those disability benefits, that strip people of their dignity... [it’s like you’re] stripped bare.
Fiona* - names have been changed to protect identities
Fiona is in her early 50s and lives with her husband and two children in rural Scotland. A full-time teacher for 25 years, Fiona had to give up work after she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in 2020.
Her daughter, 16, and son, 12, both have additional needs and were diagnosed with autism around the same time. Her husband is a full-time carer at home, and also suffers from a bowel condition and depression.
Following surgery, chemotherapy, and ongoing treatments, Fiona suffers with long-lasting side effects, including hand tremors, cognitive issues and memory problems. She describes the impact of her cancer treatment as “[Feeling] disgusting…like there's not a bit of me that feels the same as it used to.”
Fiona initially took sick leave from work, but when that ended the family had to apply for benefits.
I had said to the oncologist, "Please can you schedule my chemotherapy as soon as possible, because I need to get back to work?" and in the end, I was so very, very ill, that I ran out of sick leave. [Now] I've had to learn and navigate a whole other world that I hadn't had any experience of, really.
Fiona*
Fiona receives sickness benefits due to being unable to work. The family also receives separate disability benefits, which are designed to help with the 'extra costs' of having a disability. Their financial situation, “is stressful, it’s precarious. We are incredibly careful…We don't drink, don't smoke, we don't eat out. We literally just try to make two ends meet, and I use the community larder”.
For Fiona, the roughly £1,000 a month they get in 'extra costs' disability benefits is vital to the household budget: “it would be terrifying without the disability benefits. We would be unable to live on Universal Credit…our mortgage is just over £1,000."
Fiona's experience applying for disability benefits shocked her: "It's such a negative experience…she grilled me for over an hour…and I'd never felt worse about myself in my entire life than I felt at that moment with that woman there. I just was like, "you've got to be kidding. My case was straightforward. I'm having chemotherapy. Look at me, you can see I'm ill".”
Fiona hasn’t ruled out returning to work in future, but she doesn’t think she would be able to do a full-time job again. Alongside her health challenges, her children’s additional needs and the family’s rural location present further barriers.
She thinks there needs to be more support and flexibility from employers: “I've found when I was working that the general ethos tended to be that, if you were ill, it was viewed almost as a moral flaw in you, and there was very much a get-on-with-things [attitude]”.
In the future, Fiona hopes to do some work in advocacy to help other people facing similar situations.
Every child deserves the essentials to thrive.
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