New Labour to cut disability benefits for the most vulnerable
irate person | 11.04.2002 18:42
New Labour to cut disability benefits for the most vulnerable
I know this is serious stuff and welfare issues are not sexy and that with some exceptions even the left ignores them most of the time , but this proposed cut is vicious.
Someone once said, while there is only half a inch of difference between New Labour and the Tories, maybe it’s better to live within that half inch. But what if that half–inch includes New Labour attacking some of the weakness people in our society. A change in disability benefits which they are trying to sneak in with no debate will mean that thousands of people who are to ill to walk outdoors will face a major cut in benefits this month., they will lose the’ disability living allowance mobility’ component. People affected will include those with eye problems, epilepsy, M.E, hearing difficulties, incontinence.
While complex, the main effect is: that people who claim lower rate mobility DLA partly on the grounds that 'they cannot go out in unfamiliar places because of fear or anxiety' will not be able to claim unless their fear is due to a 'severe mental (not physical ) disability'. Thus, for example, a person who claimed on the basis that ‘incontinence’ was the main reason ‘for a fear of going out’ would likely lose the benefit. However, the expert I obtained this info from, has informed me that people with M.E are likely to be one of the main groups who will be affected by this change. However, there is a window of opportunity to lobby and to attempt to change this in parliament if enough plp challenge it. I think there are many plp who care abouthese things on these boards and there are lots of journalists media plp etc. It doesn’t take much to contact m.p,s and opinion formers. The bastards are trying to get this in with no debate, don’t let them… I,ve listed some other resources for peeps to look at.
Btw, could someone consider creating a standard letter to M.P,s like they do for anti-war stuff/palestine campaigns please.
The socials security committee report is at www.benefitsnow.co.uk and posted in their general forum. Other links: www.rightsnet.org.uk and www.bhas.org.uk
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
The government are ignoring the advice of their own Social Security Advisory Committee and cutting benefits to many disabled people unable to walk outdoors on their own. The cuts to disability living allowance (DLA) will take effect from April the 8th, but have been introduced in a statutory instrument ‘buried’ in the usual annual upratings of benefits and timed to come into force during parliament’s Easter recess. The timing and lack of notice have caught disability organisations off-guard, many are still not aware the changes are on the way, and effectively stifled opposition. The government estimates that the changes will result in 40,000 fewer successful claims.
The cuts will mean many people currently receiving the £14.65 mobility component of disability living allowance for conditions such as visual and hearing impairments, heart disease, asthma, epilepsy, ME/CFS and bowel disease will have their awards taken away. At present, people with these conditions may be able to claim DLA if they are too anxious or fearful to walk outdoors in unfamiliar places alone because, for example, they are afraid of being hit by traffic they cannot hear or see or of having a fit, heart attack or episode of incontinence. However, the new rules say that people will only be able to claim lower rate mobility if their fear or anxiety is the result of a severe mental, rather than physical, health problem.
The rules will lead to the bizarre situation that a visually impaired person with a realistic fear of being knocked down by a car will not be able to claim DLA, whilst a person with mental health problems which results in an entirely unrealistic fear of being knocked down by a car will be able to claim.
The Social Security Advisory Committee took evidence last year from 62 groups and individuals objecting to the changes, including RNID, RNIB, MIND, Mencap, CPAG, the Disability Rights Commission and Disability Alliance. The committee told the government in a report received by the minister last November, but not published until this week, that the proposed rules had ‘serious flaws’, would ‘cause significant difficulties for legitimate claimants in obtaining their entitlement’ and recommended that ‘the regulations are not proceeded with’. However, the government have ignored the report and waited until March 15th to lay the rules before the house meaning that most of the 21 days that MPs have to object to the new rules are taken up by the Easter recess.
In addition, although SSAC stated that they would contact all those who had responded to the original consultation as soon as the government laid its statutory instrument, they have still not done so - copies of the command paper are still waiting to be posted out and most disability organisations are not aware the changes are being introduced. By the time disability organisations receive copies, parliament will have gone into Easter recess and it will be too late to take action. Moreover, SSAC’s own website, on which details of the command paper should have been published, disappeared days before the new rules were published and is still offline over a week later due to a ‘technical fault’.
Notes for editors.
1 The new rules are contained in Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 648 the Social Security (Disability Living Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations 2002.
Contacts
Steve Donnison
email:
gfconsult@aol.com
Tel: 01249 740 258
Fax: 01249 740 556
Steve Donnison is a welfare benefits author and trainer who writes welfare benefits guides for national charities including Disability Alliance and the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Gill Saunders, Secretary, Social Security Advisory Committee
Tel: 020 7412 1506 Mobile: 07775 608043
Gerry Zarb, Policy Team, Disability Rights Commission
Tel: 020 7211 4031
Child Poverty Action Group
020 7837 6414
Sally Paull, RNID Training Services
Telephone 020 7296 8000 Textphone 020 7296 8001 Fax 020 7296 8199
Disability Alliance
Tel: 020 7247 8776
Kate Higgins, Capability Scotland,
Telephone: 0131 337 9876
Fax: 0131 346 7864
Last edited by treelover on 11-04-2002 at 12:48 PM
I know this is serious stuff and welfare issues are not sexy and that with some exceptions even the left ignores them most of the time , but this proposed cut is vicious.
Someone once said, while there is only half a inch of difference between New Labour and the Tories, maybe it’s better to live within that half inch. But what if that half–inch includes New Labour attacking some of the weakness people in our society. A change in disability benefits which they are trying to sneak in with no debate will mean that thousands of people who are to ill to walk outdoors will face a major cut in benefits this month., they will lose the’ disability living allowance mobility’ component. People affected will include those with eye problems, epilepsy, M.E, hearing difficulties, incontinence.
While complex, the main effect is: that people who claim lower rate mobility DLA partly on the grounds that 'they cannot go out in unfamiliar places because of fear or anxiety' will not be able to claim unless their fear is due to a 'severe mental (not physical ) disability'. Thus, for example, a person who claimed on the basis that ‘incontinence’ was the main reason ‘for a fear of going out’ would likely lose the benefit. However, the expert I obtained this info from, has informed me that people with M.E are likely to be one of the main groups who will be affected by this change. However, there is a window of opportunity to lobby and to attempt to change this in parliament if enough plp challenge it. I think there are many plp who care abouthese things on these boards and there are lots of journalists media plp etc. It doesn’t take much to contact m.p,s and opinion formers. The bastards are trying to get this in with no debate, don’t let them… I,ve listed some other resources for peeps to look at.
Btw, could someone consider creating a standard letter to M.P,s like they do for anti-war stuff/palestine campaigns please.
The socials security committee report is at www.benefitsnow.co.uk and posted in their general forum. Other links: www.rightsnet.org.uk and www.bhas.org.uk
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
The government are ignoring the advice of their own Social Security Advisory Committee and cutting benefits to many disabled people unable to walk outdoors on their own. The cuts to disability living allowance (DLA) will take effect from April the 8th, but have been introduced in a statutory instrument ‘buried’ in the usual annual upratings of benefits and timed to come into force during parliament’s Easter recess. The timing and lack of notice have caught disability organisations off-guard, many are still not aware the changes are on the way, and effectively stifled opposition. The government estimates that the changes will result in 40,000 fewer successful claims.
The cuts will mean many people currently receiving the £14.65 mobility component of disability living allowance for conditions such as visual and hearing impairments, heart disease, asthma, epilepsy, ME/CFS and bowel disease will have their awards taken away. At present, people with these conditions may be able to claim DLA if they are too anxious or fearful to walk outdoors in unfamiliar places alone because, for example, they are afraid of being hit by traffic they cannot hear or see or of having a fit, heart attack or episode of incontinence. However, the new rules say that people will only be able to claim lower rate mobility if their fear or anxiety is the result of a severe mental, rather than physical, health problem.
The rules will lead to the bizarre situation that a visually impaired person with a realistic fear of being knocked down by a car will not be able to claim DLA, whilst a person with mental health problems which results in an entirely unrealistic fear of being knocked down by a car will be able to claim.
The Social Security Advisory Committee took evidence last year from 62 groups and individuals objecting to the changes, including RNID, RNIB, MIND, Mencap, CPAG, the Disability Rights Commission and Disability Alliance. The committee told the government in a report received by the minister last November, but not published until this week, that the proposed rules had ‘serious flaws’, would ‘cause significant difficulties for legitimate claimants in obtaining their entitlement’ and recommended that ‘the regulations are not proceeded with’. However, the government have ignored the report and waited until March 15th to lay the rules before the house meaning that most of the 21 days that MPs have to object to the new rules are taken up by the Easter recess.
In addition, although SSAC stated that they would contact all those who had responded to the original consultation as soon as the government laid its statutory instrument, they have still not done so - copies of the command paper are still waiting to be posted out and most disability organisations are not aware the changes are being introduced. By the time disability organisations receive copies, parliament will have gone into Easter recess and it will be too late to take action. Moreover, SSAC’s own website, on which details of the command paper should have been published, disappeared days before the new rules were published and is still offline over a week later due to a ‘technical fault’.
Notes for editors.
1 The new rules are contained in Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 648 the Social Security (Disability Living Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations 2002.
Contacts
Steve Donnison
email:
gfconsult@aol.com Tel: 01249 740 258
Fax: 01249 740 556
Steve Donnison is a welfare benefits author and trainer who writes welfare benefits guides for national charities including Disability Alliance and the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Gill Saunders, Secretary, Social Security Advisory Committee
Tel: 020 7412 1506 Mobile: 07775 608043
Gerry Zarb, Policy Team, Disability Rights Commission
Tel: 020 7211 4031
Child Poverty Action Group
020 7837 6414
Sally Paull, RNID Training Services
Telephone 020 7296 8000 Textphone 020 7296 8001 Fax 020 7296 8199
Disability Alliance
Tel: 020 7247 8776
Kate Higgins, Capability Scotland,
Telephone: 0131 337 9876
Fax: 0131 346 7864
Last edited by treelover on 11-04-2002 at 12:48 PM
irate person
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