My Lords, the regulations that the Minister has introduced come at the end of a protracted process whereby the Government, in their early tenure, signalled their intention to abolish disability living allowance and substitute it with the new personal independence payment. The proposal has not been without controversy ever since. The abolition of a benefit
that aimed to support disabled people by making a contribution to the extra costs of disability has failed to gain full support among disabled people and their organisations. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the positive changes that have been made at various stages along the way.
The fundamental problem was the starting point of this process—not how best to design a new benefit that meets the needs of disabled people but a crude attempt to reduce the benefit bill. The change was then promoted in the context of suggesting that DLA was an easy touch for so-called cheats and scroungers, when the reality was that the fraud rate was only around 0.5%.
The first time we heard that there were going to be changes to DLA was in the 2010 Budget when the Red Book said that there would be a reduction in caseload and expenditure of 20%. That figure, I think we now realise, was plucked out of the air; no analysis, but a nice round figure that sounded definite. We now know that DWP’s latest projection indicates that the reduction in caseload and expenditure as a result of these changes will be 27% to 28% by the time the PIP assessments are completed in 2018. There will be more of this later, but we should acknowledge the hard work by officials during this process and the extensive consultations and engagement which have ensued. The Government have been pushed back on a range of important issues, whether through the Bill or the various rounds of consultation: the required period condition is now three months rather than a six-month qualifying period; the mobility component for care home residents has been retained; and they have introduced two-year linking rules, as well as substantive changes to the assessment activities. Furthermore, the agreement to switch into regulations the phrase,
“safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly, and in a reasonable period of time”,
is certainly a reassurance for some, as is the extended reassessment process. These are all to be welcomed. Whether the Government should be congratulated on their sensitivity in responding to these points or berated for the insensitivity of their starting position is perhaps a moot point. I shall put it down to the good sense and power of persuasion of officials.
At the last minute, after consideration in the other place, we have what part of our Motion calls for: an assessment of the impact on carers of the replacement of DLA. This is hardly the time to subject it to proper parliamentary scrutiny, but it seems clear from the DWP’s own analysis and the Minister’s introduction that the projected eligible PIP number for 60 to 64 year-olds in May 2018 at 1.6 million will be 600,000 below the number who would have been eligible for DLA. Of the reassessed DLA caseload, some 450,000 out of the 1.75 million will receive no award at all. In total, almost 1 million will receive a reduced award or none whatever. Is it the contention of the Government that these individuals who are to miss out on PIP have no significant additional costs associated with their disability? One of the quoted reasons for the change from DLA to PIP has been the Government’s wish to increase support for those with the greatest needs; we have heard it again this evening. How, therefore, does that oft-repeated assertion chime with the statement that the new PIP benefits rates will be exactly the same as
those for DLA? The Government claim that a higher percentage of claimants will receive the highest rates of PIP than would be the case under DLA, but because the caseload under PIP is much lower, this amounts to approximately the same number of individuals. That is not helping the most severely disabled more; it is helping them at the same rate while taking away financial support from many other disabled people who also have additional costs to meet as a result of their disability.
This has not proved to be a good time for many disabled people. The shutting of the Remploy factories; the failure of the Work Programme to support disabled people; the impact of the looming bedroom tax; the failure fully to protect disabled people from the uprating caps; the loss of the severe disability premium in universal credit; and concerns over the protection from the benefit cap all mean that we need to be especially cautious about the change from DLA to PIP. We have not seen any comprehensive cumulative impact assessment of all of these measures on disabled people. Are we to expect one?
We know that for some, the receipt of DLA has proved a means to get to work. This raises the concern that anyone in these circumstances missing out on PIP may have to give up their job. What reassurances can be given that this will not happen? The Minister may pray in aid the Access to Work Programme, as did his colleague at the other end. Perhaps we can be given an update on the budget. Official statistics released in January this year show declining numbers of individuals being helped under this scheme. In 2009-10 it was 37,000, a year later it was 35,000, and in 2011-12 it was 30,000. What is happening with this programme?
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We are hoping to be reassured that there is no adverse knock-on effect to carers, but denial of the highest or middle rate care component of DLA could take the carer out of entitlement to carer’s allowance. We know that DLA helps people to manage some of their own care needs so that their carer can undertake some work. The Minister will doubtless be aware of the reaction of Carers UK to the latest figures released last Friday. These show that there will be a net fall in carer’s allowance caseload as a result of the PIP reforms and some 25,000 individuals will lose their eligibility for the allowance. Carers UK states that:
“Carers sacrifice so much to care for loved ones and make a huge contribution to family life in our society. They contribute an estimated £119 billion to the UK economy with the care they provide, often at a cost to their health, careers and family finances. In return the Government is now cutting financial support for carers by £31 million, meaning that thousands of families now face the devastating double blow of disability and carers’ benefits. This comes on top of cuts to social care services, cuts to Housing Benefit support for carers who need a separate room to sleep in, forthcoming reductions in support with Council Tax and thousands of carers who will have their benefits capped—a perfect storm of cuts to families already struggling to care for loved ones”.
We know also that there are concerns that cutting support for those on the lower rate of DLA will particularly affect people with mental health and learning disabilities, with grave concerns that people with mental health problems will comprise a large proportion of those losing out. Parkinson’s UK says that this reform is causing untold anxiety to people with Parkinson’s.
The final criteria will cause hardship for an estimated 1 million disabled people and their families, even those who are in the greatest need. Such cuts will have an inevitable knock-on effect on the budgets of health, social and other support services for disabled people. How does the Minister respond to these concerns?
Where DLA is withdrawn from a person, their automatic exclusion from the benefit cap will fall. How many more households is it estimated will fall into the cap because of this? Further, the Disability Benefits Consortium suggests that under the Universal Credit Regulations, there is a tightening of the rules that permit an additional bedroom for an overnight carer. This is currently allowed on the basis of need, whether or not someone is in receipt of DLA/PIP. Can the Minister say whether this has been tightened and what analysis has been made of the consequences, if it has? The DBC also points out that there are likely to be many disabled people who have limited capability for work or work-related activity who will not be entitled to PIP. If so, there are circumstances where the universal credit rules will operate to create a perverse incentive for this group. I will not detain the House with the numerical example that has been offered, but no doubt the Minister has had a chance to peruse it. Does he agree with the analysis, or if he has not a chance to see it, will he ensure that he takes the opportunity to do so?
On the mobility criteria, many have welcomed the Minister’s commitment to include the term,
“safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly, and in a reasonable period of time”,
in the regulations, and obviously we support it. However, many disabled people and their organisations remain alarmed at the hurdle that disabled people will now face before being awarded the enhanced mobility rate. The arguments they make are that the 20 metre criterion simply does not provide a practical level of mobility. It is a very short distance, approximately equivalent to the length of two buses. There is very little a disabled person can achieve outside of their home without a wheelchair if they cannot walk for more than 20 metres. Since most wheelchair users can walk a qualifying distance of only 20 metres, it is likely to lead to wheelchair users using adapted cars or very expensive converted wheelchair-accessible vehicles. This could include those whose conversions have been part funded by a grant from the Government’s Specialised Vehicles Fund which is only available to those who are eligible for the Motability Scheme.
The distance of 50 metres has been embedded for many years in guidance on access to the built environment for people with mobility difficulties. For example, the Government’s own publication, Inclusive Mobility, referenced in Approved Document M of the building regulations, recommends that seating,
“should be provided on pedestrian routes at intervals of no more than 50 metres”,
and that parking spaces for blue badge holders should preferably be provided within 50 metres of the facilities they serve. The distance of 50 metres is used by some councils for considering residents’ applications for
advisory disabled parking bays close to their homes. Salford Council, for example, uses an application form which includes the following question:
“Is the applicant ever required to park further than 50 metres from home due to the lack of on-street parking spaces?”.
The change was the subject of a confused consultation, as the Minister himself I think recognised. If the proposed change had been spelled out in the consultation document, the DWP might have expected a somewhat different response, not least because of the points above. It is accepted that confusion may be attributed in part to the consultation around “up to 50 metres” initially, which the Minister confirmed, but there seems to be a difficulty in articulating quite why the DWP’s analysis shows that the proposed working of the new criteria would lead to broadly the same outcome that would result from applying the existing criteria. If this is true, I suggest there is a duty on the Government to spell this out in some detail. But if this is the case, what is the difficulty anyway in reverting to the 50-metre formulation?
Parkinson’s UK says in its briefing:
“In answer to a Starred Question, the Minister, Lord Freud, appeared to imply the change was the result of concerns expressed by charities including Parkinson’s UK. For the record, Parkinson’s UK’s concerns related not to the distance but to an implication that only wheelchair users could meet the criteria. It is unacceptable to use these concerns as a justification for reduction in distance. The government must reinstate the 50 metres rule for the highest rate of mobility PIP. The change to 20 metres is unacceptable. Making it tougher to get this rate of PIP would mean people with Parkinson’s, most of whom are on the high-rate mobility DLA, losing their transport lifeline of a Motability vehicle”.
For many disabled people who were and have extensive mobility issues, access to a Motability vehicle is a lifeline. What assessment has the Minister made of the effect that the 20-metre threshold will have on those disabled people in employment? Can the Minister tell us whether he sees Access to Work taking up some of the suggested previous support given through Motability? What assessment has been made of the financial implications of this? If somebody had a car under the DLA regulations because they were virtually unable to walk, they are hardly likely to be able to hop on and off the nearest bus or train, such that any support might actually be more expensive than Motability arrangements.
We have had the benefit of perusing the guidance for providers who are carrying out assessments for PIP. It is an extensive and seemingly comprehensive document, but one which invites a fundamental question. However well constructed the criteria and the processes, what matters is how the system will work in practice and, clearly, the roles of the provider and the health professional are key. It is understood that these are to be Atos and Capita. Atos is well known to the DWP and, it is fair to say, has not always come up to the mark. We welcome the early review of PIP but can the Minister say what safeguards are being built into the arrangements to judge performance and how the Government will ensure that efforts on PIP will not undermine efforts on ESA? How many health professionals are likely to be available by 2015 for this role and what would their previous roles actually have been? As we understand it, there is not an extensive
pool of individuals with the required skills. In evaluating the contractual arrangements with these providers, can the Minister tell us about expected productivity levels for health professionals? What is the estimated average time—if it exists—for the HP to carry out their tasks, ranging from considering the client questionnaire to reporting to the case manager?
Whatever we do with this Motion tonight, the House will approve these regulations, and whatever our misgivings, we have to wish them well because they will impact on the lives of many. However, we will be rigorous in following the progress of DLA/PIP to ensure that they deliver what is promised as well as in pursuing the cause of those who are excluded. I beg to move.