An unemployed single mother told filmmakers she is too scared to find a job – and lose her benefits – because it means she might not make enough money to provide for her son.
Amy, 30, from Keighley near Bradford, featured in last night’s episode of Britain’s Benefits Scandal: Dispatches on Channel 4.
When she was younger, Amy had hopes of becoming a barrister but joked that her ‘pelvis had other plans’.
While watching her son Alfie, eight, at the playground, the single mother said: ‘Being pregnant basically broke my pelvis so it needed fusion surgery to put it back and keep it in place.
‘I need a walking stick to move or else it’s painful, or I’ll fall over or I can’t go a certain way.
‘I am in pain all day every day so I do suffer with mental health issues as well. CPTSD, anxiety, depression, and things like that.’
Due to her limited mobility, Amy claims long-term sickness benefits from the government and she has never worked a full-time job.
‘It sounds awful that, doesn’t it?’ Amy said. ‘I’d like one but the issue is finding something I would be able to do consistently without making my son suffer and myself suffer and losing money.’
Amy (right) from Keighley features Britain’s Benefits Scandal on Channel 4 last night. It is presented by political journalist Fraser Nelson (left)
Due to her limited mobility, Amy claims long-term sickness benefits from the government and she has never worked a full-time job. She would need to earn over £35,000 per year to match the benefits she is getting now – £10,000 more than the average salary in her area
During the documentary, Amy spoke of how she would like a job but is worried that if she finds one, or even starts looking for one, her benefits will be cut and she will lose far more money than she can ever hope to earn – a cycle known as the welfare trap.
According to the team at Dispatches, Amy would need to earn over £35,000 per year to match the benefits she is getting now.
That is £10,000 more than the average salary in her area.
Responding to comments that she appears healthy, Amy said: ‘Just because someone looks alright doesn’t mean that they are. I use a walking stick for a reason – not as a fashion accessory.’
Explaining her dilemma, Amy said that she has to make decisions both for herself and for her son.
She said: ‘If I find a job that’s not suitable and I’m going into it and trying it, I need to know that I can bounce back into something because I have a son.
‘If I went and got a job tomorrow, everything I get would stop from today.
‘I would get letters coming in through the door telling me that my rent has stopped and I owe this and I owe that and where does that leave my eight-year-old?’
Eddy Graham, who works at the charity Z2K in London and helps people navigate the benefits system, said that Amy is not alone in feeling this way.
He told Channel 4 Dispatches: ‘A lot of people who are unwell and on sickness benefits would like to go back into work… but they are very worried and anxious and frightened about what would happen if they try and they don’t succeed.
‘It’s the insecurity and it’s the fear of losing the low but stable income that they’ve got which acts as a real disincentive to many people.’
While watching her son Alfie, eight, at the playground, the single mother said: ‘Being pregnant basically broke my pelvis so it needed fusion surgery to put it back and keep it in place’
The single mother said that she had wanted to be a barrister but her ‘pelvis decided otherwise’
At the end of the documentary, it is revealed that Amy is training to become a councillor – although she is unsure whether she will ever be able to use her skills in the workplace.
She said: ‘It’s scary because it feels like there’s no in-between. I don’t want to be in a situation where I can’t provide for my child.’
‘That, in a nutshell, is the welfare trap,’ presenter Fraser Nelson said. ‘The new government needs to do something about it and fast.’
Fraser is a British political journalist, who previously edited The Spectator until Michael Gove took over this year.
At the start of the one-hour documentary, Fraser declares that the benefits system is in crisis and the ‘greatest challenge the new government faces’.
He goes on to say that seven per cent of the working population claim long-term sickness benefits – and 900,000 more are set to join them by the time the next election rolls out.
This is the equivalent of losing the combined workforce of Birmingham and Glasgow.
Britain’s Benefits Scandal: Dispatches airs at 8pm on Channel 4 last night.