‘Disabled people cannot be sanctioned into work’ – Ritchie
During a speech in Parliament on employment for people with disabilities, SDLP South Down MP Margaret Ritchie has criticised the Government’s record of wrongfully sanctioning disabled people on benefits.
She said, “Constructive employment can give disabled people greater independence and help breakdown the negative stigma that still exists around people with physical or mental disabilities.
“It is vital that people with disabilities are fully supported to find work that is fulfilling and that they are supported in the workplace.
“Heaping financial strain on people with disabilities and their families is not supportive. The Government must learn that a disabled person cannot be sanctioned into work.
“The Conservative government has hijacked disability rights groups’ language around independence in order to cut the rights of disabled people, particularly through the use of cruel and counter-productive ‘fit for work’ assessments.
Article continues below:
“As the Executive begins to implement the Conservative welfare reforms supported by Sinn Fein and the DUP, the SDLP will fight hard to ensure that the cruel and arbitrary sanctioning system seen in Britain is not replicated in Northern Ireland,” Ritchie added.
Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=56696