The findings of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) consultation exercise have been challenged by a group of disabled people. Their report, entirely researched, written, funded and supported by disabled people shows that far from the generally positive views cited by the Department of Work and Pensions, the majority of those who responded to the consultation exercise (74%) were against the proposals for the introduction of Personal Independence Payments (PIP); while 19% had mixed views and only 7% supported it fully.
The report finds that the Government misled MPs and Peers over the hostility to disability benefit reform as Parliament had been given only a partial view of the overwhelming opposition to the Government’s planned reforms of DLA. The report notes that this opposition was previously not released to public scrutiny by the Government.
Other findings include:
• 98 per cent of respondents objected to the qualifying period for benefits being raised from 3 months to 6 months;
• 99 per cent of respondents objected to DLA no longer being used as a qualification for other benefits;
• 92% opposed removing the lowest rate of support for disabled people.
The new report - Responsible Reform - , suggests that the DLA consultation breached the Government’s own Code of Practice and was “highly misleading”. Researchers have used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain more than 500 responses to the consultation that were submitted by disabled people’s organisations, disability charities and other groups and have carried out the first detailed, independent analysis of those responses. The analysis showed overwhelming opposition to replacing DLA with PIP.
The new report has been researched, written and funded by sick and disabled people, thousands of whom contributed to the research through their use of social media. Its authors now hope to use the report to persuade members of the House of Lords to back an adjournment debate calling for a pause of at least 6 months, during which time the plans for PIP should be reconsidered with the views of disabled people properly taken into account.
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