Means Tests are controversial.

I collected my thoughts currently...


IDS SAYS WANTS TO MEANS TEST DISABILITY BENEFITS. We must ask how? How many that claim are well off enough to have reduced or no awards due to financial status? And those people, have they applied/ Been awarded? Would those possibly mythical not needy people have put themselves through the application processes? And how much is reasonable income? Because if the means test is to be designed to slice into a strata that has need then that's wrong at all levels. Can you see what I'm saying? It's a populist statement to say we will check they actually financially need award. But from a wrong footing is disastrously dangerous.

Means test is there across unemployment. Maximum savings, hours worked , ancillary income. Yes precedent embedded.

In PRINCIPLE it has precedent. In principle if done right there can't be objection. Devil in the detail. I know this may sound very strange. But the whole post war creation of welfare system was based on means. Without detail of proposal be careful.

Confusingly by driving away from means test you weaken the basis of the whole net.


So to conclude.. Means testing is confronted by many, yet is an important core to current welfare system as a whole.
How do you know need without assessing means?
But means should be set fairly, not on basis of "they get too much," or "how can we save money" which I suspect current proposal includes both.

Hope this makes some sense.
I'm not prepared to comment further on means test to disability benefits at this time as these are current thoughts.