The Manchester Evening News spent a day at Citizen’s Advice to find out what impact Labour’s controversial welfare cuts could have
(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
Kristi and her colleagues speak to vulnerable people in desperate situations every day.
Based at the Express Building in Manchester, the Citizens Advice staff regularly help people from all over the country claim the benefits they are entitled to. When those claims are rejected, they help challenge those decisions – and in many cases, they win.
Of all the difficult conversations Kristi has had, one in particular, that took place when she was visiting a client at home, stands out.
“He sat there in front of me telling me directly, ‘I’m going to kill myself’,” the 30-year-old caseworker recalls.
“‘If you don’t get me these benefits, I’m going to kill myself’.”
Kristi, who supports cancer patients and their families through a Macmillan scheme, says the extreme case is part of a growing trend.
Kristi Bell has been working for Citizens Advice for several years(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
“A lot of people will just say, ‘I’ve given up on life’,” she explains. “‘I’ve got no money. I’m constantly cold. I don’t want to be here.'”
Adam Stafford, 39, who sits nearby, deals with different clients. He mainly helps those forced to move to the Universal Credit regime.
According to Adam, who has worked at the Citizens Advice SORT group for three years, more ‘vulnerable’ clients are coming forward.
‘Once or twice a day’, he says, people who call up asking for help with the benefits system tell him they are having suicidal thoughts.
Now, there’s a new problem to contend with. “People do mention it and mention they’ve been losing sleep over it,” he says.
“I think it’s going to have a huge impact.”
‘It’s all or nothing’
Earlier this year, the government announced sweeping welfare reforms which were set to cut the benefits bill by around £5bn a year.
Controversially, this includes making it harder to claim disability benefits which could see some people lose their entitlements.
Labour ministers say it’s all part of a plan to help more people who can work out of the benefits ‘trap’ and back into employment.
It comes as the number of people claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) across the country rises by around 1,000 every day.
However, ministers have faced a rebellion. More than 120 backbench Labour MPs – including some in Greater Manchester – came out against the proposals this week, signing a ‘reasoned amendment’ aimed at killing the bill which will go to a vote on Tuesday (July 1).
The government has now rowed back on the reforms, promising that all those currently receiving disability benefits will be ‘protected’.
Paul Steer is an account manager at the SORT group(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
Paul Steer, an account manager at Citizens Advice SORT, which covers Salford, Oldham, Rochdale and Trafford, welcomed the move.
However, he remains concerned about new claimants who ‘need the same level of care’ as those already receiving these benefits.
Under the reforms, anyone applying for PIP must score four or more in a single ‘descriptor’ setting out how a disability affects their daily life, whereas currently entitlement is calculated as a total across several descriptors, with claimants often scoring two in each.
According to the government’s own assessment, this would have meant that 370,000 current recipients of PIP would lose their entitlement by 2030. However, concessions made to rebel MPs this week mean that those currently receiving PIP are protected.
Nevertheless, 430,000 people who do not currently receive PIP but would have otherwise been eligible are still expected to miss out.
The average loss will be £4,500 per year, the government says. But that’s not all – there will be a knock-on effect on other benefits too.
The staff take calls from people all over the country(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
The reforms would also see Work Capability Assessments, which determine some Universal Credit entitlements, overhauled by 2028.
Instead of this assessment, those applying for the health component of Universal Credit would be evaluated through the PIP system.
That means if someone is found not to be eligible for PIP, they would now also miss out on the health element of Universal Credit.
And it doesn’t end there, as these benefits also determine eligibility for for Carer’s Allowance and Universal Credit carer’s element.
According to Paul, the combined cost of losing all of these benefits could be around £700 a month for a household that’s affected.
“Most people will say it’s good in theory to have one assessment, but there are unintended consequences,” Paul explains. “There’s a bit of Russian roulette with PIP. You can’t always predict what people are going to get because even though it’s points based, it’s quite subjective. It’s all or nothing.”
‘I don’t want to bring it up’
The government says that the reforms are part of a plan to help people back into work through ‘dedicated employment support’.
However, some people claiming disability benefits are already in work. Among Kristi’s 50 clients for example, 15 to 20 are working.
“There’s a number of people who are so unwell but they’re still going to work,” she says. “They’re worried about their bills.
“You’ve got a lot of people who are worried about how they’re going to pay rent or their mortgage.”
Nevertheless, Kristi’s colleague Sarah Zientecka is keen to stress some people simply cannot work because of their severe disabilites.
The 28-year-old from Middleton says that some of her clients have been asking about the welfare reforms and how it will affect them.
Sarah Zientecka started volunteering for Citizens Advice three years ago(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
“I don’t want to bring it up because I don’t want to worry clients,” she says.
“We’ve had a few people getting in contact with us, but I don’t want to ring people and say, ‘have you heard about this?’.
“People are struggling at the moment even with these PIP payments. If someone’s going to take them away, they would be struggling even more.”
Melanie, who is a team leader, says there’s not much advice her staff can give clients about the proposed welfare reforms yet.
Her team understand their clients’ concerns though, with many of the staff also affected by the same issues they are helping with.
“The cost of living is affecting us all and people on my team are also struggling,” Melanie says. “It’s difficult for them too.”
‘I don’t enjoy being dependent’
Danielle Smith understands her clients’ concerns more than most. She could have been directly affected by the changes to PIP.
The 28-year-old who works remotely for Citizens Advice SORT has a progressive hip condition which causes pain and mobility issues.
She has been receiving PIP for a year and a half now, but has spent 16 months challenging the decision not to award the full amount.
At the moment, she gets £295 every four weeks which tops up her part-time salary. But under the reforms, she would not be eligible.
“The money I get now has really enabled me to live my own life,” she says. “I don’t work full-time which means the income I’m able to get from working is limited and having PIP coming in does help.”
Danielle currently works 28 hours over four days each week. She found that working longer hours leaves her in more pain.
Citizens Advice SORT at the Express Building in Manchester(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
For that reason, working more is not an option, she says, so if she didn’t get PIP she would have to rely on family for help.
“I find it really stressful,” she says. “It would make me reliant in a way most adults don’t want to be.
“I don’t enjoy being dependent on PIP either. If I had the option, I would just be able to fully work as much as I like and not let it be an issue for me.”
Danielle’s PIP is now protected with the government promising that those currently receiving it will stay within the current system.
However, under the reforms, 430,000 people who would have been expected to apply for PIP by 2030 would no longer be eligible.
“When you look at a system as a whole,” Danielle adds, “it’s easy to look at it in the abstract. But you have to remember it’s real people it’s going to impact.”
The Department for Work and Pensions has been contacted for comment.