“Disincentives” is a fancy way of saying that Kendall believes the current benefits system gives people so much money that they’d rather not work. This is a blatant lie. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that in 2023:

Our social security safety net no longer provides enough to afford even essentials.

Damningly, their research found that:

The basic rate of Universal Credit – its standard allowance – is now at its lowest level in real terms in almost 40 years.

the authors of the report state that public trust in the department is “sorely damaged.” In a rarity for reports written by government committees on how the benefits system functions, the authors of the report make it clear that:

some DWP policies can unintentionally create and exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. For example, where sanctions and the threat of sanctions can lead to material deprivation, stress, and the deterioration of physical and mental health. Or, where the experience of engaging with the system and processes has been so difficult and distressing, that it has contributed to claimants deciding to take their own life.

Over several years there are known to have been hundreds of serious harms and deaths of claimants, many of which could have been prevented had DWP discharged its responsibilities more effectively.

And, they also state that they’re aware that the actual figures of the serious harms and deaths of claimants are grossly under-reported. They write that:

We recognise the significance of every harm and death experienced by claimants, and the impact of these cases on loved ones.

Kendall’s comments just a month after the release of the safeguarding report are nothing short of scandalous. Research has repeatedly shown that benefits claimants are living in poverty, struggling to afford the basics. And, on top of that, research and lived experience tells us that disabled and chronically ill people are particularly vulnerable when it comes to having to deal with the DWP.

Kendall’s comments have barely caused a flutter in the mainstream media. However, the fact that she can claim that poor and vulnerable people need incentives to work – and currently do not have them – is horrific. Kendall has clearly never been in a position where people are ‘incentivised’ into choosing how many meals to skip in order to make it to the end of the week. She’s clearly never had to think about ‘incentives’ to work whilst in debilitating pain that forces people to break their bodies trying to feed their families.

Ultimately, the safeguarding report demonstrates what claimants for benefits have been saying for years: the DWP is not just failing to provide a safety net for people. It is causing active harm that piecemeal reforms cannot address. Kendall is just another piece of the rot at the DWP.