Low Review gives hope to DLA mobility claimants
20 July 2011
Ever since the Welfare Reform Bill was announced in February
people have been concerned that those living in residential care
will lose their independence if, as the government plans, the
mobility component of disability living allowance (DLA) is
abolished. But now there is renewed hope that this proposal may not
make it into law. Disability charities, Mencap and Leonard Cheshire
Disability, have asked cross-bench peer Lord Low of Dalston CBE to
chair a review into how the personal mobility needs of people
living in state-funded residential care are met. Lord
Low's brief includes investigating not only how needs are met, but
how service responses are funded and what responsibilities care
home providers and local authorities have in relation to the
mobility needs of residents. This review is welcome. The move to
cut mobility payments to people in residential care seemed
motivated only by the drive to cut the benefits bill. The
government is on record as saying it wants to cut 20% from the DLA
bill - a seemingly arbitrary figure, as percentage cuts haven't
been placed on other benefits. People with disabilities - learning
or physical - have rightly been up in arms about this. For many -
especially those with jobs or who go to college - the mobility
payment is a lifeline to the outside world; without it they would
be housebound and/or reliant on others or on the transport provided
by their residential care home. To critics, this proposed cut is
cruel and arbitrary, picking on the most vulnerable in society who,
lest we forget, have been thoroughly assessed as requiring the
payment in order to pay for the things that they need to live their
daily lives. DLA is not easy to get and the level of fraud is tiny.
People who receive the mobility component have genuine - and in
many cases life-long - need and are not "stuck" on the benefit.
With the government having stated its aim of promoting independence
and enabling people with disabilities to live the lives they
choose, axing a benefit that enables them to do that seems
counter-intuitive at best. At worst, it suggests that the
government is only paying lip service to the disability agenda.
Hopefully this review will back up the wealth of anecdotal evidence
on the adverse impact this cut would have on people's lives. This
in turn would put more pressure on the government to abandon this
part of the plan. Whether the government will listen, only time
will tell. But the government has backed down on other issues when
faced with a public backlash - so a u-turn could be forthcoming, if
there is enough opposition to the proposal. The consultation on the
review is open until midnight on October 10. For more information,
including how to participate, click here:
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