Welfare Reform Bill

My Lords, I, too, have an interest to declare because, as a family carer, I have two adult disabled children who are both in receipt of disability living allowance. I have spent many unhappy hours trying to get my mind around what the various benefits they receive are and how to complete the various assessments they have been sent. The purpose has to be reflected in the name in order to help people like me when I am trying to help my son or daughter make sense of what benefits they might be entitled to. I wonder whether there is an element of misguided political correctness in the change of the name. Terminology can be a barrier. My son is one of the 1.5 million people with learning disabilities. He will never be independent but disability living allowance allows him the possibility of being included in society and of leading a fuller life. Social inclusion is so much more useful than ideas about independence which sit uncomfortably with many people. The extra costs that people have can vary. For example, some people with learning disabilities may need to employ someone to help them to keep their home clear, to manage their laundry or to trim their hair or beard so that when they go out and about they are appropriately attired. They may need help to take advantage of special offers in the supermarket, but often people with learning disabilities will use their local shops. They have to pay more for their food than others because they do not understand money in such a way that they can benefit from the discounts available from large supermarkets. They may have special clothing needs. That is what these benefits are about and a lot of it is about inclusion. The name of the benefit needs to reflect its purpose, as should the assessments and reassessments. The name must not create a further barrier to inclusion. One worry put to me was, if it is called the personal independence payment, will it be easier for the benefit to be scrapped in the future than something with the word ““disability”” in it? Does that lie behind this? There is a lot of concern and suspicion about motivation for such a name. I support the amendment.