Ministers mislead public over Welfare Reform
Research reveals opposition to reforms in government consultation
Ministers have been accused of misleading the public over welfare reform. Research has revealed that the vast majority of respondents to a government consultation were critical of the coalition’s planned changes to benefits for disabled people.
The government did not publish the full results of the consultation at the time. They have come to light because a group of disabled researchers, writers and activists used the Freedom of Information Act to gain access to them.
The details appear in their report, ‘Responsible Reform’, which has been backed by the Disability Alliance, Ekklesia, Mind, Scope and the Papworth Trust.
The research reveals that only seven per cent of respondents fully supported government plans to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) with the proposed Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Ninety-two per cent objected to the removal of the lower rate of benefit support for disabled people. Ninety-eight per cent opposed raising the qualifying period for the benefit from three to six months.
Publication of the responses has led to the discovery that London mayor Boris Johnson is amongst those who have criticised the coalition’s proposals.
The changes to DLA form part of the Welfare Reform Bill, which is currently under debate in the House of Lords. Disabled blogger Sue March, who co-led the research, urged the Lords to take note of the new evidence of the level of opposition to the bill. She insisted: ‘It is not too late to halt these damaging reforms’.
Sam Barnett-Cormack, a Quaker living in Lancaster who receives DLA, said he was ‘shocked’ at the ‘sheer mendacity’ displayed by ministers. ‘The government’s consultation response document paints a misleading picture of the responses to the consultation,’ he said.
He told the Friend that his criticisms derive partly from the Quaker testimony to integrity. He said that, even when he opposes the government’s policies, he wants to be able ‘at least to trust them to be honest about the things they are doing’.
Prime minister David Cameron has committed his government to cutting spending on DLA by twenty per cent. He says the number of claims became too high under Labour.
In response, the researchers allege that ministers have ‘consistently used inaccurate figures to exaggerate the rise in DLA claimants’. They also point out that the recent increase in working-age claimants has been associated with mental health impairments and learning difficulties. The number of claims based on physical impairments remained stable between 2002 and 2010.
One of the report’s contributors, Kaliya Franklin, said that cutting spending on DLA could end up costing the state more in other areas. She predicted it would ‘increase the burden on local authorities, the NHS and community services at the very time they are seeking to find savings’.
Meeting for Sufferings, the national committee of British Quakers, agreed in October to campaign against proposed changes to disability benefits. They took the view that the government’s cuts programme will increase inequality. They called for cuts in military expenditure as an alternative.
Sam Barnett-Cormack encouraged Friends to support disabled people in campaigning for ‘a fair and equitable result’. He said he was pleased that a number of Quakers are discussing the treatment of disabled people but he is still not sure that the issue is ‘being talked about enough’ in Quaker circles.
