Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s attack on what he dubs Britain’s ‘sicknote culture’ is, in the words of James Taylor of the disability charity Scope, "an assault on disabled people".

It is a sign of desperation in the final months of this government that it has chosen to scapegoat the disabled for the failures of its employment and welfare policies over the past decade.

From the perspective of families affected by issues of disability, the problems are not, as Sunak claims, the result of ‘over-medicalising everyday challenges’, but the failures of NHS and social care services to provide appropriate support and treatment.

The problem is not that young people are ‘parked on welfare’, but that people in acute mental health crises cannot get timely assessment and treatment and those with chronic conditions cannot get the care and support they need from crumbling public services.

Ham & High: Mary Langan says that the government has chosen to scapegoat the disabledMary Langan says that the government has chosen to scapegoat the disabled (Image: Luke Patrick Dixon Photography)

While people in Camden and Haringey struggle to get appointments to see a GP or nurse and face delays for operations at local hospitals, the homeless, many with long-term problems of mental health and disability, have reappeared on our streets after the brief respite offered by services during the Covid pandemic.

Sunak proclaims ‘a moral mission’ to cut the costs of Britain’s welfare system by promoting the virtues of work and curtailing benefits.

The Government plans to overhaul the payment of ‘personal independence payments (PIP)’ by replacing GP certification with ‘objective assessors’ aiming to squeeze claimants off benefits.

There are also plans to appoint ‘jobs coaches’ to provide ‘intensive help’ to find work for those currently on benefits.

But where does this leave the families of the long-term disabled who are unable to work and face a mounting cost-of-living crisis and the impact of more than a decade of public sector austerity?

We need a government with a moral mission to uphold the living standards and dignity of people with disabilities instead of threatening them with further stigmatisation, exclusion and discrimination.

  • Mary Langan is chair of the Severe and Complex Needs Families Reference Group (SCALD).