Last week, Wednesday 22 November, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, delivered the Autumn Statement which provides an update on the government’s economic plans. With an upcoming general election anticipated in the new year we were eagerly anticipating the government’s announcements to understand the direction they would set for 2024.
Rising benefit levels
In the run up to the Autumn Statement, we were concerned the Government would not raise benefits in line with inflation, as is typically the case. This would’ve been a blow to some members of our community living with muscle wasting and weakening conditions, at a time when we need more support for the rising cost-of-living, not less.
This did not happen and along with many in the charity sector, we welcomed the announcement that the Government will increase the value of all working age benefits in 2024-25 in full, using the September measure of inflation. This will affect a wide range of benefits administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) across the UK. DWP benefits are a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, so the Executive there will need to make decisions on benefit increases. Some social security benefits are devolved in Scotland, so the Scottish government will also need to make some uprating decisions.
This will ease some of the cost-of-living pressures for some people living with muscle wasting and weakening conditions but we are still calling on the Government to do more to ensure people are thriving, not just surviving.
New measures to get people back into work
As part of the Statement, the Government launched its Back to Work plan, supported with over £2.5 billion over the next five years. Measures under the plan broadly fall in two categories:
- Enhanced support through the work search journey and a strengthened benefit sanctions regime, which appears to mainly affect Universal Credit recipients.
- Greater access to mental health treatment, as well as wider health and employment support.
A lot of the conversation after the speech talked about the new work search requirements and the risk of people losing access to their benefits after a period of unsuccessful attempts at engaging with the system.
Alongside many in the disability sector, we feel that stricter measures that potentially force people into work who are unable to do so, or threaten them with losing access to much needed financial support during a cost-of-living crisis, is clearly the wrong approach. As part of the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC), we will continue working with other disability and patient organisations to call on the government to do better by disabled people, including people living with muscle wasting and weakening conditions. You can read the DBC’s full statement here.
No further support for health and social care
There was no new funding announced for health or social care. As a result, the real value of departmental budgets is set to grow over the rest of the Parliament by less than what was planned earlier in the year.
This is very disappointing, given the backdrop of mounting pressures on health and social care, such as lengthy waiting lists, the impact of strikes and already tight budgets being constrained by the ongoing impact of inflation. Unless other finance or reform measures are announced, it is likely that the quality and range of public services may suffer.
In partnership with other organisations, such as the Care & Support Alliance (CSA; of which we are a member), we continue to advocate for more investment in the system to urgently provide relief for people today and improve outcomes in the longer term, including for people living with muscle wasting and weakening conditions. You can read the CSA’s response here.
What next?
We will continue to campaign to improve the quality of life for people affected by muscle wasting and weakening conditions, to ensure access to the best possible holistic support. We will do this by:
- Monitoring any future developments, and publishing further information about any proposed changes.
- Engaging with Parliamentarians.
- Working collaboratively with other disability organisations.
- Bringing people living with a muscle wasting or weakening condition together with decision makers.
- Sharing how you can be a part of our campaigning work.
- Get support from our helpline.
- Sign up to our monthly e-newsletter and be the first to hear about our latest news, campaigns, research and ways you can support us.
- Find out more about available cost-of-living support.