One authorities assist mechanism designed to assist individuals could make them extra weak to abuse: means-tested advantages. Whereas some disabled individuals can declare Private Independence Cost (PIP), a non-means-tested profit designed to cowl the extra prices of incapacity, estimated to be £975 per 30 days, it’s usually inadequate. So, many additionally declare means-tested advantages, reminiscent of Common Credit score (UC), to assist them. The DWP assesses your eligibility utilizing the entire family’s earnings.
Disabled individuals who cohabit or marry a companion within the UK might lose entry to means-tested advantages like Housing Profit and free prescriptions if their mixed earnings exceeds the brink. For disabled individuals who can’t work, this leaves them completely reliant on PIP and romantic companions to fill the monetary hole.
Primarily, the strategy strips claimants of economic autonomy by assuming romantic companions will decide up the slack with out query. That’s what occurred to me again in 2019; my ex’s earnings far surpassed the brink, however we didn’t share funds, so I misplaced out on lots of of kilos per 30 days. I later discovered myself unable to go away an more and more poisonous scenario as a consequence of an absence of earnings. Many profit claimants don’t know this might occur to them till it’s too late.
“I was ignorant to the fact his wage would affect my benefits before we got married. My UC work coach didn’t tell me that it would, and she knew I was getting married,” says Nicole*, who was together with her ex for seven years. “When I phoned UC about it, I was met with a vile man who laughed at me while I was crying and said, ‘Well, you’re married now, so your husband can keep you’ and ‘You’re disabled, why do you need money?’”
After shedding entry to means-tested advantages, her ex’s resentment and abusive behaviour grew exponentially till she needed to depend on the kindness of family members to outlive. “He would buy games, films, clothes, whatever he wanted, and I’d be lucky to replace the clothes I had with holes in them. I had severe endometriosis, so I needed a lot of sanitary products, and I was often made to ask my mum or my friends to send me money to get them.”
The funnelling of all family advantages into one account additionally made it extraordinarily tough for Olive*, who has Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and ADHD, to go away her violent ex-partner and the daddy of three of her 5 youngsters. “He wasn’t working and it was a joint account, but I had no access to it. One time, shortly before I tried to leave, he emptied the bank account, even though the child benefit was in my name, and the police said there was nothing they could do.”
The means-tested advantages system is ostensibly honest, making certain households don’t take greater than their share. However it may well make it more durable for victims of abuse to flee, significantly if their companion is financially controlling. “Having no money to my name and being disabled meant the thought of leaving him wasn’t even an option; I was terrified, and it was keeping me trapped. I was made to feel useless and worthless, and I thought being with someone, no matter who, was better than being alone,” Nicole tells GLAMOUR.
In an announcement to GLAMOUR, the DWP says they’ve “no plans” to “amend the rules regarding the treatment of household income and capital in UC and Employment Support Allowance.” A DWP spokesperson added: “We would urge anyone experiencing any form of domestic abuse to reach out to the relevant authorities, and they can also speak to our specially-trained Jobcentre staff who can provide urgent support including, temporary accommodation, benefit advances and signposting to additional support.”
