Hardest Hit March
The hardest hit march – Join us!
Sight Support Derbyshire are heading to London as part of a nationwide march in protest at the treatment of all disabled people who are being hit hardest by government spending cuts. Visually impaired members of the organisation will accompany staff and Chief Executive Ges Roulstone as part of the march before meeting with Bolsover MP Dennis Skinner to encourage him to vote against the proposed measures.
On 11 May, thousands of disabled people will be marching through Westminster and past Parliament to express solidarity and anger at the cuts threatening disabled peoples benefits, services, jobs and rights. We are expecting over 10,000 people from across the country to take part in what will be the biggest march in support of disabled people’s rights in British history.
Chief Executive of Sight Support Derbyshire Ges Roulstone said “The people who have done nothing to cause this crisis and have the least ability to pay for it, are being asked to take the biggest burden of all. This is about giving disabled people and specifically blind and visually impaired people in Derbyshire, a voice. A voice that says that says to the government that we won’t take these changes lying down and that instead they should be looking at other means of generating income such as the £95 billion lost each year through tax evasion and tax avoidance. The cuts to disabled peoples allowance will save only millions of pounds, but will cost the state many times that in additional support in the future through benefits. We are proud to stand up for our service users throughout Derbyshire and look forward to a great show of support on the day.”
Marching in solidarity - an overview of the day
Over 40 organisations and groups of disabled people are working together led by UK Council of Disabled People, the Disability Benefits Consortium and the Disability Charities Consortium.
The march will begin on Victoria Embankment between Horseguards Avenue and Bridge Street and will assemble at 11.30am. There will be a rally on Victoria Embankment with speeches between 12 noon and 12.30pm before the march sets off. The march will then begin at 12.30pm.
The march will take about an hour. It will take in Victoria Embankment, Parliament Square and Millbank and finish in Dean Stanley Street.
Methodist Central Hall, which is near the end of the march route, will be available as a quiet space during the day.
After the march the group will be lobbying MPs as the Welfare Reform Bill reaches a critical stage in the House of Commons. They will be sharing their stories, making sure that Parliamentarians understand the combined impact of the cuts on their lives and futures. Crucially, they will be asking MPs to challenge policies that will push disabled people further into poverty and isolation. The lobby will take place in Westminster Hall and Methodist Central Hall between 1.30pm and 5.30pm.
After the march the group will be lobbying MPs as the Welfare Reform Bill reaches a critical stage in the House of Commons. They will be sharing their stories, making sure that Parliamentarians understand the combined impact of the cuts on their lives and futures. Crucially, they will be asking MPs to challenge policies that will push disabled people further into poverty and isolation. The lobby will take place in Westminster Hall and Methodist Central Hall between 13.30 and 17.30.
Changes to payments
Blind and visually impaired people will no longer automatically be eligible for benefits under changes that are being proposed by the coalition government. Hundreds of people with sight loss in Derbyshire could lose around £30 a week and miss out on support to find work under changes to the benefit system due to start in April.
Local blind organisation Sight Support Derbyshire said they are unlikely be eligible for the replacement for incapacity benefit, or for tailored support helping them find work because a new test designed to assess levels of disability makes it much harder to qualify and ignores the difficulties blind people face as they search for work.
Chief Executive of the organisation Ges Roulstone said “Many of our service users already find it extremely difficult to find work through no fault of their own. 66% of people of a working age with a visual impairment are out of work whilst 92% of employers describe blind or partially sighted people as difficult or impossible to employ. With the changes introduced today it is inevitable that more and more blind people in Derbyshire are going to slip further into poverty at the same time as having the support previously available to help them access work torn away.”
“The changes to the benefits system means that our members face a double whammy in that they are already denied legitimate opportunities to work and now they face being pushed onto the lower paid jobseekers allowance to save money. Over 90% of older blind and partially sighted people live on less than half the national average income and that is going to be significantly decreased even further when the new changes come into force.”
Previously people who were registered blind were automatically entitled to incapacity benefit, but that is being phased out. From April all existing claimants will have to undergo a new medical test of their fitness for work. The test has much tighter criteria, making it more difficult to be judged eligible for employment support allowance, the new benefit. During pilots of the changeover, 70% fewer claimants were found eligible for the full-rate, unconditional support benefit.
"The new test will mean many blind and partially sighted people are deemed immediately able to work and moved straight on to jobseeker's allowance, which will mean a big drop in income and less support to find work.”
For further information please contact Sight Support Derbyshire: 01332 287 021 or fundraising@sightsupportderbyshire.org.uk
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