Disability benefit claimants are accessing discounts of up to 70% on products including sex toys, holidays, and luxury items through paid subscription services Purpl and the National Disability Card. The schemes are available to individuals with a recognised physical or mental disability affecting daily life, including those receiving Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
What discounts are available?
Purpl users, which reportedly include PIP recipients, have been offered 70% off products from sex shop Lovehoney. Other promotions include £500 off selected TUI holidays, money off Jet2Holidays, and reduced trips to Alton Towers. Luxury items such as watches from Rotary are available at 25% off, according to the Telegraph.
The National Disability Card, which costs £20 for two years of access, offers online shopping discounts and reduced days out, including 25% off Disneyland passes.
Criticism and defence
Critics have expressed concerns that consumers are subsidising lower costs for other groups. Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson said PIP should be reserved for those who "genuinely need help" and not "to get discounted sex toys and luxury holidays." He added: "Living on benefits is becoming more attractive than going out and working, so much so that people are actively coaching others on how to exploit these schemes on social media."
Purpl founder Georgina Colman defended the website, stating it is "privately funded by the brands, have no impact on welfare spending and exist to help reduce the extra cost of disability." She added: "Disabled households face significantly higher everyday living costs than non-disabled households. We believe disabled people should have the same freedom of choice as anyone else over where they shop and what they buy. Purpl is not a welfare scheme. Privately funded retail discounts should not be conflated with debates about how PIP is assessed or reformed. Our focus is, and always will be, helping disabled people reduce the extra cost of disability."
Dianne Taylor of the National Disability Card scheme said: "The National Disability Card is a high security card giving disabled people a verified way to show they may need support, particularly when so many conditions are invisible. We founded it after caring for a family member with cystic fibrosis, and many of our staff are disabled people or carers." She noted that the bargains were "funded by retailers at no cost to the taxpayer" and added "we make no apology for helping to ease" the extra costs disabled households face.
