It is also important to remember that some disabled people will not be able to work, regardless of the accommodation and provisions designed to help them into employment (Abberley 1996). Society must accept that work is not always appropriate or possible, and that for many disabled people humane and supportive alternatives to work are needed. These must not stigmatise those who are so supported, nor should non-working disabled people have to suffer poverty and social exclusion. In conclusion, the relationship of the advocates of the Waddell Aylward BPS to the UK government’s ‘welfare reform’ does not represent evidence-based policy. Rather, it offers a chilling example of policy-based evidence.