rural disability

This article tells about how the CEO of Mind Paul Farmer has decided to quit the national panel responsible for monitoring the fit for work test. It indicates a sea-change amongst charities involved with vulnerable people telling us:

“Farmer chose to leave the panel responsible for monitoring the functioning of the work capability assessment (WCA), the new fitness-for-work test that determines who is eligible for sickness benefits, frustrated that the government was not paying attention to the growing chorus of alarm over the reliability of the test.

His departure from the committee reflects the intensifying anger among charities such as Mind that represent people affected by the government’s commitment to reassessing approximately 1.6 million recipients of incapacity benefit – which is being phased out – to see whether they are eligible for the new benefit, employment and support allowance.

Until now, charities have been voicing their concerns but expressing a desire to work with the government to get things right. Farmer’s resignation marks a new, tougher stance.”

I am Chair of a charity based in rural Derbyshire supporting people with learning difficulties. I am coming off the fence on this one to the extent of saying there appears to be no consideration of the challenges facing people in rural areas with far fewer jobs to go for in deciding whether they are fit for work or not. Without a consideration of these issues some very vulnerable people face the challenge not only of losing their benefits but their roots in their community if they are to search for increasingly elusive local employment.