Campaign success sees disability benefit u-turn

Capability Scotland is celebrating the UK Government's apparent U-turn on its proposals to remove disability benefits from those living in residential care.

Minister for Disabled People, Maria Miller, announced on 1st December that the proposal, which would have seen 80,000 thousand disabled people lose between £20 and £50 benefit a week, will not now be implemented in 2013-14 as previously planned.

The removal of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance from those living in residential care had been the subject of an intensive campaign by Capability Scotland. Together with The Blackwood Foundation, the charity had commissioned research from the Strathclyde Centre for Disability Research on the likely effect of the proposals.

The research showed that those living in residential care depended heavily on the benefit to see family, access healthcare and take part in leisure pursuits. It was subsequently used by several members of the House of Lords to back up their opposition to the Bill which is currently under their consideration.

Richard Hamer, Director of External Affairs says:

"We are delighted and relieved that the UK Government has finally listened to sense on this issue. Capability Scotland has always considered the proposal to remove the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance from those in residential care to be one of the most unfair and misguided aspects of the welfare reform plans.

"Disabled people living in residential care have as much of a need and right to go and visit friends and family, visit their GP or hospital, and have a social life as everybody else.  Yet until today there was a risk that they were going to be denied this and instead become prisoners in their own home."

Capability Scotland remains concerned at the other proposals contained in the Welfare Reform Bill, particularly the plan to cut 20% from the bill for Disability Living Allowance's successor, Personal Independence Payments. The charity is currently awaiting the outcome of the Scottish Parliament's Health and Sport Committee evidence sessions into the effect of the Bill on Scotland. Richard Hamer commented:

"We hope that the Scottish Parliament will take action in the face of the disastrous effect of the Welfare Reform Bill on Scotland and refuse consent to the Bill's Legislative Consent Motion currently under consideration. More than £2bn of benefit income will be withdrawn from Scotland, pushing disabled people further into poverty and making it harder for the economic recovery to take place."