Over half a million disabled people to lose DLA lifeline

• 600,000 disabled people set to lose Disability Living Allowance
• This would mean a disabled person could lose between £20.55 a week and £131.50 a week
• Disabled people tell Scope why DLA is important

Welfare reforms that will see more than half a million disabled people lose out on vital financial support for the extra costs of living with disability are fundamentally flawed, the charity Scope is warning.

On Monday 8 April 2013 the Government begins abolishing Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and introducing the new Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which includes tighter eligibility criteria and a controversial new assessment.

This would mean a disabled person could lose between £20.55 a week and £131.50 a week to support with the costs of living at home like preparing a cooked meal or the costs of getting out and about, such buying a wheel chair.

Disabled people have been posting messages on Facebook explaining why DLA is important to them. Over five years 600,000 disabled people will lose £2.62 billion pounds of support as a result of the changes. 


But Scope warns there are two fundamental flaws.

Firstly the Government has argued that the reform is about making sure the payment goes to those who need it most.

But the fact that the Minister has announced the number of people that are expected to lose the benefit before assessments have even begun, has left disabled people worried that this is nothing but a cost-cutting measure with arbitrary targets to meet.

At the same time serious concerns have also been raised over the new assessment. Scope published research in 2011 that revealed that the assessment was deeply flawed, and unlikely to accurately direct support to the people that needed it the most.

There are fears that when it comes to the assessment, due to be delivered by private companies Atos and Capita, the Government will repeat the same mistakes the it made with its fitness for work test, the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). The WCA has been criticised for high levels of successful appeals and horror stories of people inappropriately found fit to work.

At the same time several Paralympians have voiced concerns about the impact on their lives if they were to lose their DLA.

Personal Independence Payment is being piloted for new claimants in five areas including North East England, Merseyside, North West England, Cumbria and Cheshire.

Existing DLA claimants won’t be automatically moved to PIP. They will instead be invited to re-apply for the new payment once wider rollout begins in 2015.

The loss of £2.62 billion support for disabled people from just one benefit comes against a backdrop of flat-lining incomes and spiralling costs of living for disabled people. In total Scope and Demos found that disabled people are due to be hit by up to £28.3 billion worth of support affecting 3.7 million disabled people.

Hundreds of thousands of disabled people are also facing multiple cuts to benefits. Up to 5,000 people will be subject to a sixfold cut.

Scope is arguing that the Government has repeatedly failed to look at the bigger picture of what it’s like to be disabled in 2013, and how combinations of cuts impact on disabled people.

Richard Hawkes, chief executive of disability charity Scope, said:

“In 2013 disabled people are struggling to make ends meet. Life costs more if you’re disabled. But this year living costs are spiralling and income is flat-lining. Disabled people are getting into debt to pay for essentials.

“What’s the Government’s response? It is cutting a financial life-line for disabled people, which helps them meet the extra costs of day-to-day living when you are disabled. The reform is fundamentally flawed.

“DLA needs reforming and could be better targeted to meet the extra costs people face. But disabled people are frightened by the Government’s plans. They believe it’s just an excuse to cut their support.

“It doesn’t help that the Minister is able to predict exactly how many disabled people will receive support before they have even been tested. This raises alarming questions that the Government is working to arbitrary targets.

“For months now we have been saying the Government’s assessment for the new Personal Independence Payment is deeply flawed. It looks set to repeat the mistakes of the Work Capability Assessment.

“It doesn’t take into account all the barriers that disabled people face in daily life. This means the support won’t be targeted to those that really need it.

“If the Government is serious about a Paralympics legacy where disabled people can fulfil their potential, they urgently need to reconsider their approach to welfare.

“We have to start looking the bigger picture. At the same time local support for disabled people is being rationed as councils face budget cuts. This is about the kind of country we want to live in. In 2013, at the very least disabled people should be able to pay the bills and live independently.” ENDS