ANOTHER day, another disastrous effect of the Tory government’s welfare “reforms”.
This time the victims are significantly disabled people who have the temerity to want to leave their homes. People who wish to have some degree of independence. People who – and this part seems to be lost of Iain Duncan Smith and David Cameron – may simply be trying to get to work.
Read about the assessment process for the new Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which is gradually replacing Disability Living Allowance (DLA), and you’re likely to experience deja vu. Assessments carried out on behalf of the government by private firms? Check. Huge number of rejected claims for support? Check. Eye-poppingly high success rate for appeals? Check – a whopping 60 per cent in this case.
It was always predicted that the transition to PIP would lead to a slashing of support for disabled people. It’s worth bearing in mind that neither of these benefits is an income replacement – they are intended to reflect the considerable extra costs associated with being disabled. Therefore one might have naively imagined that they would be protected from the slash-happy approach of Duncan Smith and his colleagues.
Disabled people have already been disproportionately hit by the disgraceful bedroom tax, and no sooner have those in Scotland been protected from the cruel effects of that cut than they are being attacked from another direction. Many now face a stark choice: somehow find the money to pay for their own mobility vehicles or stay at home.
The DWP is keen to point out that most of those currently using the scheme will be eligible for a one-off “transitional support” payment if they are found to be ineligible for PIP covering the lease of a vehicle. This may or may not be enough to cover the costs of buying one from Motability, but is unlikely to make much of a dent in the ongoing bills for insurance and repairs.
The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is currently investigating the UK over alleged human rights breaches, but its findings are not due until 2017. This unprecedented move has done nothing to dampen the government’s enthusiasm for hitting disabled people where it hurts.
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