Virginia Moffatt, activist, editor, and author of DLT’s bestselling Lent course Nothing, More and Nothing Less, based on the Ken Loach film I, Daniel Blake, reflects on the welfare system, the effects of the pandemic, and how we need to work together for our common wellbeing …
I first heard about the work capability assessment (WCA) in 2011, when I read a news story about the death of David Groves, a former miner and telecoms engineer. Groves had been forced to give up work because of a serious heart condition, but due to a new system of medical assessment had already endured an 8 month appeal process to keep his incapacity benefit. Despite this, he had been called in for another medical assessment, and died of a massive heart attack before he could attend it. His heartbroken family blamed DWP Secretary Iain Duncan Smith and the coalition government for the stress caused by their push to ‘crack down on scroungers’ (1). I was horrified, but my horror grew further when I discovered this was not an isolated incident. A new system for assessing people’s right to sickness benefit set up by the previous Labour government as a pilot programme had been accelerated under David Cameron’s coalition government to make savings on the welfare bill. As a result, hundreds of sick and disabled people were undergoing the same stress that David Groves had as they were regularly being found fit for work. Despite the government’s own reviews finding the new regime was punitive, stressful and error ridden, the new Employment Support Allowance (ESA) benefit became a key plank of the 2012 Welfare Reform Act. The Act also brought in other harsh changes such as sanctions for rule breaches by people on job seeker’s allowance, and a change from disability living allowance to personal independent payments (PIP) that have created further problems.
Over the next few years, I supported campaigns run by sick and disabled people that highlighted the injustices perpetuated by these changes: the stress of the assessment process, the poverty caused by suspension of benefits, and, worse still, the many deaths that resulted. Campaigner Karen Sherlock, who had multiple health issues, spent the last year of her life battling with the DWP to have her benefits reinstated. She died a few days after discovering her appeal was successful. (2) Mark Wood who lived not too far away from me in Bampton, Oxfordshire, died of starvation after his benefits were stopped when he was found fit for work despite being too mentally unwell.(3). Since then thousands of people undergoing such assessments have died, and though the WCA wasn’t always the direct cause, it is a damning indictment that so many deaths occurred after they were found fit for work.
The film I, Daniel Blake, written by Paul Laverty and directed by Ken Loach is a response to this injustice, an attempt to show the world the human stories behind the grim statistics. It tells the story of Daniel Blake, a man with a heart condition, who like David Groves, is going through the WCA process. He befriends a single mum, Kate, who is struggling to find work in a new town, who soon becomes a victim of the harsh sanctions scheme due to being late for an appointment. It is a wonderful film that is both funny, sad and rage inducing as we witness the way the system oppresses rather than helps people. So I was delighted to be asked by DLT Books to develop a Lent study guide based around it, as I felt it was an excellent starting point to reflect on the issues and think how we could change things. The course Nothing More And Nothing Less (a quote from Daniel’s final powerful speech), takes clips from the film and uses them to explore topics such as oppression, staying human, compassion, resistance and suffering.
I had high hopes when I wrote the guide in 2017, that growing awareness of the problems caused by the WCA, PIP, sanctions and universal credit would lead to a change of approach by the government, rendering this course redundant. Unfortunately, things have only got worse in this time. The roll out of universal credit and delays in benefit payments have resulted in a rise in foodbank users(4), while the pandemic has resulted in increased job losses and people suffering from the effects of long covid.
It is ten years since David Groves died, but the system that killed him is stronger than ever. And a year of pandemic has shown us quite how vulnerable we all are to it. Any one of us could fall ill and find ourselves on the receiving end of a WCA assessment, or lose our jobs and require universal credit, at any time. Ending this cruel system has become more urgent than ever, and luckily the seeds for change are being laid right now. The furlough scheme for people whose cannot work at present, demonstrates that basic income is not only possible, but necessary. While the power of community has been shown by the many acts of kindness and care as people have reached out to look after friends, family and neighbours ensuring that we can all get through this together.
So now seems like a good time to revisit this Lent course, and reflect together about such injustice and oppression and how we can overcome it. As a result I will be leading it online from February 24th – March 3rd. I hope some of you will join me by signing up here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nothing-more-nothing-less-lent-course-tickets-139190491507
Today we know we could all be Daniel Blake. Let’s work together to ensure tomorrow none of us are.
Virginia Moffatt is a writer, editor and former director of the Christian think tank Ekklesia. She worked in social care for thirty years and has now written two novels, Echo Hall (Unbound) and The Wave (HarperCollins), and Nothing More and Nothing Less, a DLT Lent course based on the film I, Daniel Blake. She is the series editor of the How the Bible can Help us Understand books.
Nothing More and Nothing Less: A Lent course based on the film I, Daniel Blake is available now in paperback for £6.99.
References -
(1) Stress of Tory benefits tests killed our Dad, family claims. Mirror journalists. ily Mirror 22/5/2011
(2) Activist’s death highlights ‘cruelty’ of ‘fitness to work’ rules. Disability News Service.5/6/2012 https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/activists-death-highlights-cruelty-of-fitness-for-work-rules/
(3) Vulnerable man starved to death after benefits were cut. Amelia Gentleman. The Guardian 28/2/2014. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/28/man-starved-to-death-after-benefits-cut
(4) 5 Weeks Too Long. Why we need to end the wait for universal credit. Ellen Thompson, Abby Jitendra, Sumi Rabindrakumar. Trussell Trust. September 2019. https://www.trusselltrust.org/what-we-do/research-advocacy/universal-credit-and-foodbank-use/
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