A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants?

On Friday, Left Foot Forward published a guide to faking up a Daily Mail benefits story in five easy steps using publicly available data. Of course, the technique of briefing misleading welfare stories to the press can be applied to all the right-wing papers, not just the Mail.

DWP-in-the-shadows Somebody followed the steps almost to the letter in concocting this story in today’s Sun.

But even by the standards of right-wing tabloids, the story hits a new low in callous disregard for people with learning difficulties and mental health problems.

The headline is:

‘Labour doubled kids on the sick’

A misleading conflation of Disability Living Allowance, which is not an out-of-work benefit, with Incapacity Benefit/Employment Support Allowance: less than half of young DLA claimants receive IB or ESA.

The story continues:

“The number of young people claiming disability benefits more than DOUBLED under Labour, official figures show.

“A staggering 142,000 18-24-year-olds pocket the Disability Living Allowance – compared to 61,000 when Tony Blair became Prime Minister in 1997.”

There is little need for comment on this story.

At the foot of this article is a table showing the DLA caseload as of May 2010 for people age 18-24 by the main disabling condition on which their award is based. It is taken from the same data source as was used to generate the figures quoted by the Sun, which are not new.

It also shows the growth in the caseload over the period May 1997 to May 2010. Just under a third of the growth is accounted for by young people with learning difficulties, just over a third by people with mental health problems (and because these are DLA awards, the problems will be on the severe end of the spectrum).

So these two categories account for two thirds of the growth referred to by the Sun.

This growth in caseload is adequately explained by increased awareness of the availability of DLA for children and young people with these conditions. Nonetheless the Sun quotes an unnamed DWP source as saying:

“The benefit is meant to be for people who have severe problems walking or looking after themselves because of a disability.

“But with such a big increase in young people claiming DLA, we have to be sure it’s getting to those who really need it.”

This is not comment, it is innuendo – the caseload has increased, therefore the benefit isn’t ‘going to those who really need it’, those ‘with severe problems’. The table below should allow readers to judge for themselves whether the disabling conditions for which young people have been awarded DLA represent ‘severe’ problems.

Disability Living Allowance caseload, people aged 18-24

May 2010 (000s)

Change 1997-2010 (000s)

% of total change

Total

141.8

80.6

100

Arthritis	1.4	-0.4	-0.5
Muscle/joint/bone disease	8.2	1.2	1.5
Blindness	3.7	1.3	1.6
Stroke related	1.1	-0.9	-1.1
Learning difficulty	49.6	26.4	32.8
Mental health causes	34.9	27.3	33.9
Epilepsy	6.3	2.5	3.1
Deafness	4.1	3.2	4.0
Malignant disease	1.3	0.6	0.7
Chest disease	*0.3
Back ailments	0.7	-0.3	-0.4
Heart disease	0.8
Parkinson’s disease	-
Diabetes mellitus	2.4	1.9	2.4
Renal disorders	*0.4
AIDS	*0.1
Skin disease	0.6
Frailty	-
Multiple sclerosis	*0.5
Other	25.4	16.7	20.7

There is a line between selective presentation of data which makes the case for a particular policy, which is legitimate, and suppressing details in order to encourage gross misinterpretation of the evidence, which isn’t. Today’s Sun story is on the wrong side of that line.

http://twitter.com/sinnaluvva/status/42224607310262272 Malcolm Evison

RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/eX89NF
http://twitter.com/oldmankelv/status/42225746634223616 Kelvin John Edge

RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/ifZBVH by Declan Gaffney
http://twitter.com/thegreenbenches/status/42226629870755842 Eoin Clarke

RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/ifZBVH by Declan Gaffney
http://twitter.com/lewsosnhs/status/42227901692784640 lewsosnhs

RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/ifZBVH by Declan Gaffney
http://twitter.com/davidmentiply/status/42244308459462656 D.Mentiply

RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/eX89NF by Declan Gaffney
http://twitter.com/rnib_campaigns/status/42245309690155008 RNIB Campaigns

RT @davidmentiply: RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/eX89NF by Declan Gaffney
http://twitter.com/bendygirl/status/42256079471648768 BendyGirl

RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/eX89NF
http://twitter.com/pollykeaton/status/42256403951398912 polly kelly

RT @BendyGirl: RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/eX89NF
http://twitter.com/nellbridges/status/42258343192035328 Nell Epona Bridges

RT @BendyGirl: RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/eX89NF
http://twitter.com/sean_gittins/status/42271150008582144 sean gittins

RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/ifZBVH by Declan Gaffney
http://twitter.com/oldmankelv/status/42279332244238336 Kelvin John Edge

RT @BendyGirl: RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/eX89NF
http://twitter.com/hypnodisc/status/42279939558477824 Chris Hypnodisc

RT @BendyGirl: RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/eX89NF
Phil

hmm, another failure by the DWP and/ or its Ministers.
It’s curious how the DWP seems incompetent whenever required to handle and present statistical data.
There seems to be a lack of intellectual ability to understand and interpret statistical data, coupled with a lack of political will to present the complicated truth rather than a convenient simplistic fallacy (it could be an ‘either .. or’, but I suspect it’s both together).
http://twitter.com/newsmary/status/42522561703198720 Mary Hamilton

Sun misleads on disabled benefit claimants http://bit.ly/eX89NF
http://twitter.com/gracetalkingto/status/42523154375114752 Gracetalking

RT @newsmary: Sun misleads on disabled benefit claimants http://bit.ly/eX89NF
Mr. Sensible

Why should we expect anything less?
http://twitter.com/bendygirl/status/42542934771511296 BendyGirl

RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/eX89NF
http://twitter.com/blissfulblues/status/42543668057485312 Angela

RT @BendyGirl: RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/eX89NF
http://twitter.com/julianyon/status/42543712257056768 Julian Yon

RT @BendyGirl: RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/eX89NF
http://twitter.com/apptme2theboard/status/42543946009804800 apptme2theboard

RT @BendyGirl: RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/eX89NF
http://twitter.com/dochackenbush/status/42557115977564160 Sol Smith

RT @BendyGirl: RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/eX89NF
http://twitter.com/press_not_sorry/status/42564740253356033 Press Not Sorry

RT @newsmary: Sun misleads on disabled benefit claimants http://bit.ly/eX89NF
http://twitter.com/margojmilne/status/42565665093197826 margojmilne

RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/eX89NF
http://twitter.com/daybeforevenus/status/42572564509368321 Eve Marshall

RT @MargoJMilne: RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/eX89NF
http://twitter.com/myinfamy/status/42821501438795776 Daniel Pitt

A new low in DWP war on disabled benefit claimants http://bit.ly/ifZBVH #ConDemNation
http://twitter.com/brokenofbritain/status/43016381821763584 Broken OfBritain

RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/ifZBVH by Declan Gaffney
http://twitter.com/jasontipple/status/43020254275833856 Jason Tipple

RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/ifZBVH by Declan Gaffney
http://twitter.com/nickbloke/status/43041141813280768 Nick H.

RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/ifZBVH by Declan Gaffney
http://twitter.com/latentexistence/status/43088247554981888 Steve Sumpter

RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/ifZBVH by Declan Gaffney
http://twitter.com/caer23/status/43088492917567488 Caer

A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/fBZFNQ via @BrokenOfBritain
http://twitter.com/double_karma/status/43092967145209856 Double.Karma

RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/ifZBVH by Declan Gaffney
http://twitter.com/timregency/status/43322326300889088 Tim Blackwell

RT @leftfootfwd: A new low in DWP’s war on disabled benefit claimants? http://bit.ly/ifZBVH by Declan Gaffney
http://iannoon.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/does-the-government-know-what-theyre-doing-on-benefits-and-disabled-children/ Does the Government know what they’re doing on benefits and disabled children? « Campaigning for deaf children

[...] for a confession – I’m what the tabloid newspapers would call a benefits scrounger. Yes, I receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA). Been receiving it [...]
http://iannoon.wordpress.com Ian N

As well as dodgy use of stats, I’m also concerned that DWP seem to be intent on abolishing key benefits for disabled children without saying what’s going to replace it. Are disabled children being treated as an afterthought?

http://iannoon.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/does-the-government-know-what-theyre-doing-on-benefits-and-disabled-children/
http://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/04/mail-telegraph-disability-benefits-myths/ Right wing press need to check facts before screaming at disabled | Left Foot Forward

[...] of reporting is not only lazy, but it could be dangerous. Sadly, all the while the DWP are happy to twist the figures themselves; I can’t imagine things will improve. Share | Permalink | Comments: 9 [...]