Disability Living Allowance

Coalition Announces Changes

Government announces cuts to disabled people’s support as “new test”

6 December 2010

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is today (Monday 6th December) launching a consultation on Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for working age disabled people [1]. This consultation will rename the benefit (‘Personal Independence Payment’) and introduce a new assessment from 2013 for all recipients – but also aims to deliver the Government proposal of cutting the amount of DLA available by 20% [2].

DLA was introduced in 1990 and implemented in 1992 to help disabled people meet higher costs of living [3]. The Treasury announced in the June 2010 Emergency Budget that 20% of DLA ‘caseload and expenditure’ would be cut. Today’s consultation is set to finalise who will lose support by introducing a new ‘assessment’ process for all people 16-64 years of age receiving DLA. This new assessment will be costly to introduce and administer and has the primary objective of restricting access to this essential benefit for disabled people.

Neil Coyle, Disability Alliance Director of Policy, says:

“Margaret Thatcher paved the way for DLA in 1990. She recognised that DLA could help disabled people pay for everyday things like heating or specialist equipment. But the coalition Government wants to cut 20% of this essential support and risk leaving our most disadvantaged citizens facing deeper poverty and exclusion.”

Using the most recent DWP figures (up to May 2010) over 1.8 million working age people receive DLA. The Government cuts are likely to mean over 360,000 disabled people losing DLA across the UK. But a third of disabled people live in poverty in the UK already and disabled people are twice as likely to live in poverty as other citizens [4].

The consultation is focused on DLA for working age disabled people but may be extended to disabled children and older people over time, affecting far more families. And, alongside this consultation, the Government has also proposed axing payments of DLA to disabled people living in care homes – cutting the support to get out and about to shop and see friends for example. But cutting DLA support for disabled people in care homes not only undermines autonomy and independence, it may also result in higher charges to councils to provide the lost support or to the NHS for health emergencies or crises if disabled people cannot visit a GP or collect a prescription.

Neil Coyle says:

“The combined effects of the Government agenda for DLA risks meaning disabled people are unable to participate, less likely to work and more likely to live in poverty. Disability Alliance also today began consulting on DLA to ensure a thorough investigation of the issues involved. Our research will be an in-depth analysis of DLA use, disabled people’s needs and potential risks in the Government plans.”

The Disability Alliance consultation – which includes the Government’s questions – will be available at: www.disabilityalliance.org and we hope to receive 1,000 responses by the closing date of the Government consultation (14th February 2011).

Despite the significant changes announced today and the massive impact on disabled people, DWP is running a very short (9 week) consultation over the Christmas period despite Government guidance suggesting 12 weeks is appropriate [5] and the communication needs of many of the disabled people needing DLA.

Notes

[1] The Government consultation is available at: www.dwp.gov.uk
[2] Emergency Budget ‘Budget 2010 policy costings’ HM Treasury, June 2010.
[3] DLA was introduced by ‘The Way Ahead’ white paper published in January 1990.
[4] For further information on disability poverty see: ‘Tackling Disability Poverty’ Disability Alliance, 2009.
[5] BERR ‘Code of Practice on Consultation’ 2008.