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Coalition under fire for changes to disability benefits

(By David Brindle, guardian.co.uk, 23.02.11) The government's own advisers have criticised its planned overhaul of the disability living allowance.

The government's plans to overhaul disability benefits have come under fire from its own official advisory body.

The statutory social security advisory committee is questioning the motives for the proposed replacement of disability living allowance (DLA), paid to almost 3 million people to help cover extra costs arising from their condition.

It is also opposing outright the separate move to withdraw DLA entitlement from people living in care homes who receive it to help with the costs of transport.

Ministers will be embarrassed by the committee's intervention, disclosed the day after the Guardian reported that one of the architects of the new sickness benefit regime had declared its fitness-for-work test "a complete mess".

The advisory committee, chaired by Sir Richard Tilt, a former director general of the prison service, has made its criticisms in a formal, so far unpublished, response to the consultation on DLA changes.

The committee backs the simplification of the benefits system and welcomes the principle of giving disabled people greater choice and control through the personal independence payment, which would replace DLA. However, it says it is "concerned that the aim of reducing the number of working-age claimants of DLA by 20% appears to be driving the need for reform of the benefit".

Calling for "some clarity" about the overall aims of the change, the committee asks bluntly whether the goal is to reduce numbers on DLA, reduce the length of time people receive it, improve its targeting "or to achieve something else".

The welfare reform bill, published last week, indicated that the government was looking to cut annual spending on DLA by £2.1bn from more than £12bn.

On the issue of DLA entitlement in care homes, the committee says: "We consider that the proposal to remove the mobility component from people in residential care should not go ahead. This measure will substantially reduce the independence of disabled people who are being cared for in residential accommodation, which goes against the stated aim of the reform of DLA to support 'disabled people to lead independent and active lives'."

Ministers last week deferred withdrawal of the mobility component until 2013 and promised a further review, but have not withdrawn the proposal.

The advisory committee points out that research for the Department for Work and Pensions, published last summer, found conclusively that DLA made "a real difference" in assisting disabled people to manage their lives and contribute to society.

Neil Coyle, policy director of the Disability Alliance charity, said the intervention "should cause the government to stop and think". He said: " It very much echoes our view that this is something that is being driven by cuts rather than any attempt to address the problems that disabled people have in getting support."

The DWP said: "The government is committed to protecting DLA for the future and has already said it will stay a non means-tested cash benefit. We need to reform DLA to ensure that the £12bn we spend on it makes the most difference and that people can rely on it for years to come. We are working with disabled people and disability groups on the reforms and will respond to the public consultation shortly."

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/

New disability test 'is a complete mess', says expert

(By Amelia Gentleman, guardian.co.uk, 22.02.11) Welfare reform expert Professor Paul Gregg says a rushed roll out of the work capability assessment will cause more anguish.

One of the architects of the new sickness benefit system has warned it would be a mistake to start introducing it nationwide from the end of this month because of serious ongoing problems with the medical test designed to assess whether claimants are genuinely sick or disabled.

"The test is badly malfunctioning. The current assessment is a complete mess," Professor Paul Gregg, an economist and welfare reform expert, said.

During the preliminary roll-out of the test, people with terminal cancer, multiple sclerosis and serious mental illnesses have been found fit to work.

Since early 2009, more than 240,000 cases contesting the result of the health tests have been accepted for tribunal hearings and, of the cases they hear, judges overturn about 40% of test findings.

Over the next three years, 1.5 million people claiming incapacity benefit will undergo a work capability assessment (WCA) to determine whether they are eligible for a replacement benefit, employment support allowance (ESA).

The new test is much tougher than the previous one and in pilots 30% fewer people have been found unfit for work and 70% fewer people have been found eligible for the full-rate, unconditional support benefit; in both cases claimants have been shifted to a lower benefit. The reform is expected to save the government £1bn over five years.

The system has been in place for new claimants since 2008, but will be expanded to retest existing claimants from the end of this month.

An independent review of the test in November last year found serious flaws in the way it was functioning and called for major improvements.

Although the government has promised to implement these recommendations before people begin to be retested, at a rate of 11,000 a week, some politicians, charity workers and academics think the roll-out is going ahead too fast.

Gregg, who helped design the new ESA, recommends a further trial before it is introduced nationally.

"In the first trial, the system did not work. We need to trial the new, proposed, reformed system to check and prove that it works and avoids the serious stress and misclassification of people that we have already seen, before we start implementing it on a large and vulnerable population," he said. "The test so far has caused a huge amount of anguish to the people who have gone through it. We need to have something that is working accurately before we apply it nationally.

"We shouldn't roll this out until we have something that is working."

Stephen Timms, the shadow employment secretary, is also anxious about the speed with which it is being implemented. "In principle, this is the right thing to do," he said. "My worry is that this exercise is being rushed. We know that there are some changes that need to be made to the WCA. There are risks with the roll-out. I think that the government is in a rush with the welfare reform."

Chris Grayling, the employment minister, acknowledged that there had been problems with the test, but said reforms were being introduced and would be in place in time. "I see this as a constant process of refinement and improvement," he said.

The headline of this article was corrected on Wednesday 23 February 2011. It previously said Paul Gregg designed the welfare test. In fact he designed a different part of the employment support allowance.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/

MP highlights disabled man's plight

(19.01.11, Press Association ) The Liberal Democrat MP for Colchester has questioned the Prime Minister's "fairness" pledge as he told how a disabled constituent would be jobless after his Disability Living Allowance (DLA) was removed.

Bob Russell said the Government claimed it wanted to help disabled people get back to work but his constituent, Robert Oxley, a father of four, was set to lose his job.

At Commons question time, the MP told how Mr Oxley, 33, was injured in a motorcycle accident two years ago which resulted in one leg being amputated and part of his second leg removed.

"Regrettably those in charge, including callous cretins on the tribunal, have taken away his DLA and Motability car. He is now out of work, or will be," Mr Russell said.

"Can I ask the Prime Minister - where in that story do the words 'fairness' and 'all in it together' feature?"David Cameron said he understood how "soul-destroying and complicated" the situation could be.

He told the MP: "I am very happy to take up your case. We have all in our constituencies seen cases where tribunals have come to conclusions that completely fly in the face of common sense.

"I'm very happy to take up that case and have a look at it and see what can be done. We should do what we can to help disabled people, particularly with the mobility needs they have.

"I know, having filled out those forms myself, just how soul-destroying and complicated it can be and how much we need to help people who can't get around to make sure they do."

On his website, Mr Russell said Mr Oxley works shifts for an industrial air conditioning company and is unable to get to work without his Motability car. The removal of Mr Oxley's DLA means he no longer qualifies for the car, the MP said.

Source: http://www.haverhillecho.co.uk/

Making light of disability

(By Geoff Adams-Spink, Age & disability correspondent, BBC News, 09.04.10) Whether it is Jim Davidson refusing to perform in Plymouth because the front row of the theatre is occupied by disabled people, or Frankie Boyle lampooning people with Down's Syndrome, comedians often find themselves in hot water when it comes to disability.

Disability is one of those things that makes people feel awkward - there is perhaps a deep-rooted, psychological fear of contamination by association.

So what we often do when something makes us feel uneasy is to laugh about it.

It's still well within living memory that TV comedians would poke fun at people from different ethnic groups - but broadcasting executives soon cottoned on to the fact that they risked alienating growing sections of their audience for the sake of a cheap gag.

Performers - Davidson included - had to clean up their act on screen, even if their live performances in clubs and theatres still used traditional targets as the butt of their jokes.

Laughing at the expense of disabled people continued to slip beneath the radar of commissioners - it was almost as though to be edgy and alternative, making jokes about disability was seen as some sort of badge of honour.

Changing landscape

David Blunkett was seldom if ever mentioned on Have I Got News for You without his blindness being ridiculed.

A BBC Three chat show once had author Will Self telling the audience that he enjoyed playing a game called "child or dwarf?" with his children in the car.

Anyone of small stature would be the subject of speculation and - in the case of a dispute - his son would be sent out of the car to take a closer look. The audience apparently found this hilariously funny.

But the TV landscape has changed considerably over the past few years.

Coronation Street is the latest of the British soaps to announce a regular disabled character. EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Emmerdale have already done so.

There have been disabled characters in Holby City , and Cast Offs on Channel 4 was a big hit.

Actress and model Shannon Murray received critical acclaim for her overtly sexy Debenhams posters which resulted from the How to Look Good Naked show, again on Channel 4.

Disability - on and off-screen - is being normalised as never before. It is no longer the stuff of fantasy to imagine that a visibly disabled person might read the Ten O'Clock News or present highlights from Glastonbury .

After all, Frank Gardner - who was injured in Saudi Arabia - regularly pops up on news programmes.

So does Gary O'Donoghue - blind since childhood and one of the army of political correspondents now delivering blow-by-blow accounts of the election campaign.

It is highly likely, given all of this mainstreaming of disability, that Mr Boyle's jokes about Down's Syndrome will go the way of mother-in-law jokes or sitcoms like Love Thy Neighbour.

We will probably watch comedy archive programmes in 20 years time and ask ourselves, 'Did we really used to laugh at that?'

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/