UK’s ‘welfare state’ facing cuts squeeze
People with disabilities dependent on state benefits fear proposed cuts could push them further into destitution.
The famous boast of Britain’s welfare state was that people would be looked after “from the cradle to the grave”, yet the proposed cuts to benefit payments by the government may have a detrimental effect on those who need them the most.
The Broadhead family, made up of Matthew, Dominic, and their mother Lisa, who is suffering from an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis, are among those fearful that further cuts to their already stretched finances will push them further into destitution.
Matthew has to prove to the government that he works 35 hours a week caring for his mother in order to receive just $75 a week to live on.
Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee reports from Leeds, United Kingdom.