Mon 4 March – No More Benefit Deaths!

On Monday 4 March, we’re taking part in the #No More Benefit Deaths national day of action called by Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC).  Protesting against plans to slash our entitlement to disability benefits, put more disabled claimants on work conditions, and increase sanctions. DPAC info here.

The London protest will meet at 12 noon
At Department for Work & Pensions
Caxton House
6–12 Tothill Street
London SW1H 9NA (Westminster tube)

You can also take part on social media, search: #NoMoreBenefitDeaths  #FundWelfareNotGenocide

Other in-person actions include:

• Norwich Monday 12 noon meeting corner Grapes Hill/Upper St Giles, Norwich NR2
• Edinburgh Monday 2pm – join the Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty (ECAP) protest stall 2pm onwards at Leith Jobcentre, 199 Commercial Street, EH6 6QP weather permitting. Read ECAP blog on Work Capability Assessment reform.

• Cardiff Monday 6pm UK Government Building CF10 1EP #FundWelfareNotGenocide

• Wed 6 March: Manchester DPAC taking part in Fuel Poverty Action protest.   Meet 1pm outside Boots, 32 Market St, Manchester M1 1PL

Monday’s protest is ahead of Budget Day on Wednesday 6 March.  The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to announce cuts to public spending including benefits, but expected to say that rich people will pay less tax. 

Last year, the government announced plans to make big changes to disability benefits, which will deprive hundreds of thousands of people of vital money.  We have been opposing this, and protested at the DWP in November 2023.

Increased work conditions and sanctions hit mothers and children, including disabled single mothers, who are already in poverty or even destitute, those of us with hidden disabilities and mental distress, and people in part-time waged work.  Both Jeremy Hunt and Keir Starmer made statements that too many people who are long-term sick, especially with mental distress, are getting benefits and this is bad for the economy. We say, we’re entitled to benefits and to survive!

WinVisible helps women to win our benefit rights case by case.  Every day, we are winning continued PIP, increased PIP for debilitating invisible disabilities and paper-based work capability assessments instead of stressful interviews.  Maximus had to apologise for how they treated a Southwark woman with mental distress.

Earlier this month, Disability News Service reported about the Work and Pensions Committee inquiry into safeguarding vulnerable claimants:

“The disabled women’s grassroots group WinVisible called for DWP to have a statutory safeguarding duty, but it also warned that “safeguarding vulnerable claimants is not possible without tackling the systemic hostility of the benefits system towards sick and disabled claimants, and others needing financial support to survive”. Read our group’s collective statement to the inquiry here.

DWP spying on bank accounts.  Like many people, we oppose a Bill in Parliament that gives the DWP powers to snoop on the bank accounts of over 22 million claimants, monitoring every payment by robot algorithm.  We’re working with Big Brother Watch (who are coming on Monday). Please sign and share their petition, and the other petitions which are different:

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-the-government-from-spying-on-all-of-our-bank-accounts

https://organise.network/actions/petition-prevent-the-dwp-from-scrutinisi-gtXE9yQv

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/650940