Fermanagh and Omagh District Council Respond to DWP Green Paper

I welcome the Council’s comprehensive response to the DWP’s “Pathways to Work” Green Paper, and I commend its clear opposition to many of the proposed changes that would disproportionately harm disabled people.

As Vice-Chair of the Access and Inclusion Group, and co-founder DPAC Northern Ireland, I strongly endorse the Council’s position that reform must not come at the expense of our most vulnerable residents.

Proposals to restrict access to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and reduce the Universal Credit (UC) health element risk driving many disabled people further into poverty, isolation, and mental distress—especially in rural areas like ours, where support services and transport are already limited.

I fully support the Council’s call to reject linking disability benefits to employment conditions, and to protect the financial independence of disabled people and carers. The commitment to “nothing about us, without us” must not be tokenistic—disabled people must be involved in every stage of policymaking.

This response sends a strong message: we will not stand by while our community members are punished for being disabled. I look forward to working with the Council to ensure our voices are not only heard but acted upon.

Despite persistent media and political rhetoric, actual welfare fraud in the UK is extremely rare—especially when it comes to disability benefits. According to DWP, just 2.7% of total benefit spending in 2023/24 was lost to fraud, and for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the fraud rate was a mere 0.2%. These figures stand in stark contrast to the billions lost annually through tax evasion and avoidance, which cost the UK over £70 billion each year.

DPAC Northern Ireland strongly challenges the dangerous myth that benefit fraud is widespread. This false narrative has been used to justify punitive welfare reforms, degrading assessments, and relentless cuts that disproportionately impact disabled people. The facts are clear: disabled people are being unfairly demonised for a problem that barely exists. You’re statistically more likely to be struck by lightning than to commit disability benefit fraud—yet it’s disabled people who are treated as suspects by default.

DPAC Northern Ireland

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council Respond to DWP Green Paper

Download FODC’s Response to DWP Green Paper

Watch motion being proposed and seconded in Enniskillen