Death by austerity

Austerity is literally killing us. It’s killing our community, our jobs and our hope. It’s killing our culture, our education and our children.  This is not a ‘political necessity’ for the good of the people; this is a choice. A callous and calculated choice from the government. This may sound dramatic, but it’s true. Until 2011, life expectancy had been steadily increasing in the UK, thanks to increased living standards and health care, however, when austerity measures were put in place, this increase slowed by up to 91%. The most recent Budget leans towards those better off, allowing lower levels of tax for the wealthier, while simultaneously cutting benefits for not only those who are out of work, but for the elderly and disabled.

The reality is that 14million people have been forced into relative poverty and 1.5million into destitution. Despite the government’s stance that working is the best way to crawl out of poverty and shaping social security thusly, it has been found that 60% of those living in poverty are in a family where at least one person is employed.  UN Rapporteur, Professor Alston has stated that the current state of poverty is ‘not just a disgrace, but a social calamity and an economic disaster, all rolled into one’ and that many of these issues could be ended overnight by policy change.

Those suffering the most are the most vulnerable such as children, the elderly and disabled. Almost half of those living in poverty are disabled or have a disabled person in their family. Some of those have been label as ‘fit to work’, disregarding doctor’s advice, and that if they refuse to work, their payments will cease. One claimant recalled being told that although her dominant hand had been disabled, she ‘had another hand’ and to ‘just use it’. In addition, there has been a £6bn decrease in elderly care, leaving older people alone. In turn, this had led to an increase in accidents leading to injury or death and deterioration in the mental wellbeing of those of retirement age. Universal credit is now being paid as a single sum to the family, potentially locking individuals into unhealthy relationships; those seeking to leave a situation would be left destitute whilst re-applying for benefits.

Perhaps even more disturbing, there are 4million children in poverty- that’s 30% of British children. With the introduction of the two-child cap, larger families are bearing the brunt of these austerity measures. Teachers have been faced with children attending school with a greying complexion, exhaustion and hunger. Some teachers have even used their own money to pay for families to afford basic necessities. Children have also been seen taking food from the school to ensure they can eat at home. Worryingly, under new legislation, one in eight children who were eligible for free school lunches before the introduction of universal credit no longer qualify for free meals. To combat hunger in schools, some have arranged a free breakfast for those that need it, using their already dwindling funds. It is estimated that three million children will go hungry over the summer holiday. It is not surprising that children are suffering from mental health issues; and disgracefully these issues are not being treated. One third of those children suffering with mental illness do not receive care. Abhorrently, the number of those born with learning difficulties awaiting suitable provisions for schooling has doubled since 2010.

Many children and parents are suffering from fatigue as ‘bed poverty’ has hit thousands of families across the UK. Many parents are now forced to share a bed with their offspring, meaning that they are receiving a much lower quality of sleep, affecting their work. Parents are being required to choose whether to feed their children or wash their clothes. Some families have been provided with temporary accommodation until permanent dwellings becomes available. There are now 790,000 families living this way (64% more than in 2010). Whilst this is gratefully accepted when compared to rough sleeping, the main lodging is a hotel room. Needless to say, this does not serve as an equivalent to a home. There are little in the way of cooking facilities, making cooking nutritious meals extremely difficult. However, this difficulty is not exclusive to those in provisional housing, fuel poverty is affecting thousands causing restricted use of heating and the oven. Further to this, after rent or household bills, for many families there is little left for food. In areas where universal credit has been introduced, food bank usage has risen by 53% in a year, compared to 13% in the rest of the UK. What should be a safety net or last resort is now a way of life for an estimated 1.2 million people. It is difficult to eat healthily when meals are made from donated food.

The lack of nourishing diets could lead some way to explain the differing life expectancies between affluent and deprived areas. Blackpool- the most deprived area of England- has twice the amount of early deaths than Wokingham which is the most affluent. Further factors include the closing of social amenities such as; libraries, parks, leisure centres and even police stations. The closure of leisure centres and parks lessens the availabilities for physical group activities, demoting active lifestyles. A lack of social recreation, low work moral and poverty is a recipe for a depressed nation. In Gateshead, 2/11 claimants have considered suicide and across the UK there have been an estimated 1,000 more suicides than projected since the financial crash.

Taking a wider look, there were 10,000 more deaths in the first seven weeks this year than in the same period last year and approximately 120,000 more deaths since 2010. Lack of provisions for the NHS have left only 77.1% of A&E patients admitted and treated within four hours. Other outpatient services provided by the NHS have received lower or no funding, leading to 4 million people waiting for treatment in an array of areas. Health and social care funds have been almost obliterated with £6bn lost for elderly care. Around 168,000 people have lost support with eating, washing and getting dressed since 2010. Many elderly people are now at risk of accidental death or injury which could be prevented by support workers. The responsibility for elders who require care is now being passed to the NHS and other organisations, blocking much needed beds. Furthermore, ageing people become more vulnerable to cold weather resulting in 3,000 people dying from fuel poverty.

These deaths were preventable, and Theresa May patting us on the back saying that Britons’ ‘hard work has paid off’ is a slap in the face of those who have lost loved ones. Austerity was unnecessary and is still not over. When the bottom 10% of the population is earning four times less than the top 10% and the government choses to cut taxes to the most well off, deceasing benefits for the poorest; there is an engrained error in society. Whilst Amber Rudd denies the findings of the UN rapporteur, this report was based on true life accounts gathered by Professor Alston; but has Amber Rudd carried out the same field research? The government are completely out of touch with their people’s struggles and people are dying to be heard. It’s time for Theresa May and her cabinet to descend from their ivory tower and on to the streets to see what their ‘well thought out’ policies are doing.