Welfare Reform Bill

I strongly support the amendments, which seek to ensure that the radical policy of a right to control, contained in the White Paper, finds more accurate expression in the Bill. I strongly agree with the arguments put forward by the noble Baroness, Lady Campbell. Clauses 33 and 34 provide the basis on which the right to control would be implemented across Britain post the trailblazers. The White Paper states that, ""legislation will provide clarity for both public authorities and disabled people and"—" in the event of a wider rollout— ""would help ensure a universal and consistent application of the right to control principles"." As currently drafted, the Bill does not achieve this aim. The terminology is rooted in the old ways of care planning and a culture in which professionals always know best, rather than heralding the shift in power from the state towards disabled people which this policy is supposed to be all about. Under the current model of public service support, disabled people have to fight for everything they get and are subject to a vast amount of costly and stressful red tape. If you do not know your rights, public authorities are not quick to fill you in. Many have missed out on direct payments, disabled facilities grants and the like because the system favours the well-informed, the articulate and the belligerent.