disability and being tangled within the UK benefits system | cripple chronicles podcast (Ep.49)

Hi friends 

This episode is a long one, I thought it might be when I was recording but it ended up much longer as it is something I am passionate about, something that I live through and experience on a daily basis. I am not one to get political on the podcast as the current political landscape feels like hell to try and direct what is going on. 

This is an episode about reforms, what these reforms ACTUALLY mean, austerity, poverty, the benefits system that has been built upon suspicion instead of support. In the last episode I did some more editing, finding some b-roll and adding in some extra clips - for this episode I actually had a lot of things that I could add in - but this episode may have ended up being closer to 3 hours, so I've decided that all of the other things I have to say will be discussed within the next episode.

I have listed materials I used for research below, as well as where you can follow me on socials and get in touch if you have anything you dont wanna say in the comments section. 

Resources used;
Want to fact-check the mess? Curious if I made it all up? Here's where you can see the stats and studies I mentioned in this episode, so you can scream into the void with evidence.

Scope's 2024 Disability Price Tag Report (£1,010 per month extra costs)
https://www.scope.org.uk/campaigns/extra-costs/disability-price-tag/

Joseph Rowntree Foundation – UK Poverty 2023 (nearly 30 percent of disabled people live in poverty)
https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/uk-poverty-2023

JRF – 7 in 10 low-income disabled households go without essentials
https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/going-without-essentials-depth-cost-living-crisis

Resolution Foundation – Disabled people £2,800 worse off on UC
https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-long-and-winding-road/

Citizens Advice – Over 60 percent of UC claimants have debt deductions
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/policy/policy-research-topics/welfare-policy-research/the-deduction-trap/

BMJ – Universal Credit linked to higher rates of depression and anxiety
https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3345

DWP – £37 billion cut from welfare system between 2010 and 2021
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/cumulative-impact-tax-and-welfare-reforms

NHS England prescription charges (£9.90 per item)
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/help-nhs-prescription-costs/prescription-charges

Free prescriptions in Wales (2007)
https://www.nhsconfed.org/news/wales-celebrates-10-years-free-prescriptions

Free prescriptions in Scotland (2011)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-12930321

Free prescriptions in Northern Ireland (2010)
https://www.northernireland.gov.uk/news/free-prescriptions-introduced-ni

Ministry of Justice – Over 70 percent of PIP appeals are successful
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022

National Audit Office – Problems with PIP assessments
https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/personal-independence-payment-assessment-process/

DWP – Fraud rate for PIP is 0 percent, DLA is 0.1 percent
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2022-to-2023

UC fraud rate between 10.9 and 13.9 percent
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2022-to-2023

(all other resources linked in YT description I ran out of space here)


📩 Email: cripplechroniclespod@gmail.com
📱 Follow me: @cripplechroniclespod on Instagram + TikTok

🎶 Music Credits:
Intro: Reflection by Filo Starquez
Outro: Angelz by ZiMPL