Scottish Disability Equality Forum

Welfare Reform Bill - Parliamentary Update

The Welfare Reform Bill recently moved to the House of Lords. This is the bill that, among other things, introduces the Universal Credit and replaces Disability Living Allowance (DLA) with the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

On 13 September the Bill passed its second reading, this was not a stage where changes were going to be made, however it was an opportunity for members of the House of Lords to set out their opinions on the proposals.

Lord Freud opened the debate, setting out the Government’s position. His confused statement on DLA highlights one of the flaws in the approach to reform.

On the one hand he says:
‘We must apply the same principles of fairness, affordability and ending benefit dependency across the welfare spectrum. This is why we must reform support for disabled people.’

On the other he points out that:
‘Too many people think of DLA as an out-of-work benefit. In fact, DLA's purpose is to provide financial support to contribute towards the extra costs incurred by disabled people as a result of their disability, irrespective of whether they are in or out of work.’

It makes little sense to discuss welfare dependency in the context of a benefit such as DLA, which is paid to account for some of the unavoidable costs that come from living with a disability. The only people who think DLA is an out of work benefit are politicians and tabloid newspapers. 

Lord Freud also asserts that spending on DLA has ‘started to spiral out of control.’

These conflicting ideas were highlighted in an excellent speech by Lord Rix, who is the president of the Royal Mencap Society.

He said:
‘The Government have declared that PIP will remain a benefit to support, "the extra costs of overcoming the barriers faced by disabled people to leading full, active and independent lives".
However, I and many disabled people fear that this most welcome announcement may be somewhat economical with the truth. Prior to the decision to reform DLA, your Lordships may recall that there was an announcement in the June 2010 Budget that the Government intended to make significant savings on future spending on the benefit of some 20 per cent. George Orwell's gloomy prediction in 1984 may be true after all:
"'Doublethink' means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them".

There were many other speeches during the seven hour debate that gave some of the different perspectives of disabled people and highlighted many concerns. We have provided summaries and links to some of what we think are the most interesting speechs.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson gave a personal account to highlight the challenges disabled people face, particularly with negative attitudes from wider society:
‘The media coverage of disabled people is already varied. Disabled people are either portrayed as athletes or as work-shy benefit scroungers. There is not much in the middle. The reality is that we know that the rate of abuse of the current system is 0.5 per cent. From my own personal experience, I know that if I am recognised as "the one who used to be the athlete" or as someone in your Lordships' House, I am generally treated extremely well. However, if I am seen as "that woman in a wheelchair", or more usually, "that wheelchair", then my treatment can often be somewhat less favourable.’

Baroness Campbell, who is a Commissioner of Equality and Human Rights Commission, and formerly of the Disability Rights Commission, gave a speech that pointed out many of the main issues and concerns disabled people have with the reform proposals.

Labour peer Lord Touhig gave a speech that highlighted some of the concerns particularly relating to individuals with Autistic Spectrum disorders.

Baroness Gale pointed out some of the issues that affect people with Parkinson’s disease as well as raising the real fear and anxiety the Government proposals have caused.

The next stage in the Parliamentary process is for the Bill to be considered by the Grand Committee of the House of Lords. This means that all members of the House will be able to take part but no votes will be taken. Therefore it is likely that major changes to the bill will only happen when the bill goes to the final reading. This is disappointing but hopefully the Lords will make some important changes and the Government will begin to take on board some of the views and opinions of disabled people.

The Work and Pensions Select Committee in the House of Commons is conducting an Inquiry into the proposals to replace DLA with PIP. SDEF have submitted written evidence to this inquiry.

SDEF will keep you informed of the progress of the Welfare Reform Bill and the inquiry.