DWP is trying to prove young people are faking it for benefits, again

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has sneaked out that it will specifically target young disabled people who can’t work.

Last Monday, the DWP announced a new independent investigation to “tackle rising youth inactivity”. This would look into why young people are not in employment, education or training (NEET).

Milburn’s back to ruin disabled people’s lives again

The investigation is to be run by former health secretary Alan Milburn. He, as the Canary has previously reported, has many, many links to private healthcare firms. As well as being the favourite minister for hire by private healthcare companies, he also has previous when it comes to attacking disabled people.

Last year, he authored a report which called for disabled people to be pushed into work. It also called for the government to cut benefits except for those with “severe disabilities”. This was, of course, adopted as part of the Universal Credit Act this summer.

Young disabled people will be targeted by the DWP

But back to how Milburn wants to kill disabled young people now. Though the press release mentions young people with mental health issues several times, it doesn’t specifically say they’ll be the targets. However, John Pring at Disability News Service looked through the terms of reference and found what we already knew.

While the release tried to vaguely blame kids pretending they’ve got mental health problems, the terms of reference say it clearly. One of the main aims of the investigation is to:

understand the drivers of the increase in the number of young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) and claiming health and disability benefits, including childhood experience

It also says they will:

investigate the root causes of this rise in economic inactivity among disabled young people and those with health conditions

DWP being vile about disabled people, shocker

The document goes on to say it will “focus on providing a diagnosis” for why so many disabled young people are NEET. It’s a very weird use of medical language here, as if this is in any way a report that will help disabled people. This follows DWP boss Pat McFadden calling the growing number of disabled people out of work or education a “disease” and that work was the “antidote”.

Worryingly, the focus is on “analysing trends” of young people applying for benefits. This is not at all subtly playing into the bullshit we see in the press that kids pretend they have ADHD, autism or anxiety because they saw it on TikTok, their fave celeb has it, or they want to fit in.

The document says that the “solution” to this is to:

take a holistic view of the welfare, health, skills and employment system and identify areas for reform

Basically, they want to take away benefits for young people and send them to bullshit wellbeing courses whilst forcing them into “skills” internships. These, as Rachel Reeves has already revealed, would be shit paying jobs with zero progression. The fact that the document says that SEND won’t play a part in the report shows just how little they care about actually supporting disabled young people back into education.

Labour’s “investigations” into disability are for one reason only

Whilst many will be hoping that this report will finally prove the link between COVID and the cost of living crisis and the rate of disability among young people, I wouldn’t count on it. We have to remember that this is a government who are working with the media to demonise disabled people by any means necessary so they can cut benefits.

This report will also be happening at the same time as the one Wes Streeting has commissioned to prove that too many mental and neurodivergent conditions are over-diagnosed. All these reports already have a foregone conclusion that too many of us are faking to live a life of luxury on benefits.

If they actually cared, they’d be focusing on supporting newly disabled young people, not calling it a “solution”. Because another well known who claimed to work for good, hardworking people, called killing disabled people a solution too.

Featured image via the Canary