A significant number of people are voluntarily cancelling crucial Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits they are legally entitled to, driven by fears that claiming support will jeopardise their right to remain in the UK.
A Mother's Impossible Choice
The stark reality of this trend is embodied by a low-paid carer from Ghana, who has taken the drastic step of stopping all state support for her family. This includes housing benefit and universal credit she receives due to her low income, and critically, her daughter's disability living allowance (DLA) of £103.10 a week.
Her decision follows policy changes announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on 20 November. The new "earned settlement" rules are perceived to penalise individuals who are living and working legally in the UK but who claim benefits.
"I heard about these changes and decided to cancel all my benefits," the mother of three told the Guardian. "The only way I will be able to manage to pay my rent and feed my children is if I increase my working hours as a carer to 60 hours a week."
She described the immense personal toll, explaining that her autistic daughter does not sleep much, leaving her constantly exhausted and in pain. "I need to try to get some medication from the doctor to deal with this pain so that I will be able to work the extra hours," she said.
Sacrificing Essential Support
Despite advice from her children's teachers to work fewer hours to spend more time with them, she feels she has no choice. "I’ve stopped the benefits, even though I need them because I’m so scared I will not be able to get my settlement in the UK," she stated.
She expressed a profound sense of injustice, saying, "It feels so unfair that I accessed benefits because I’m on a low wage and now that is being used against me. It was a difficult decision to ask for my benefits to be stopped, especially my daughter’s DLA, but I didn’t know what else I could do. I don’t have a voice."
Charity Warns of Systemic Discrimination
Nick Beales, head of campaigning at the charity Ramfel (Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London), which is supporting the woman, condemned the policy's impact. He argued that the government's plans "clearly discriminate against south Asian, African and Caribbean migrants", who constitute most people on the existing 10-year route to settlement.
"The intersection between classism and racism is clear," Beales said, "with the government making clear that they consider lower-paid work as less valuable and worthwhile."
He emphasised that this case is not isolated, forcing vulnerable individuals into an impossible dilemma. "People such as this woman now face a stark choice: continue receiving essential state support issued to her disabled child and lock herself out of permanent immigration status or sacrifice that support to her child’s detriment in the hope that she will still eventually secure permanent status."
