Disabled will be worse off, report says
Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK
THE Government has defended its changes to support for disabled
people after a coalition of charities published a report arguing
that "tens of thousands of disabled adults and children" would be
"much worse off" as a result of the move to the universal credit
next year.
Disability and Universal Credit, by the
Children's Society, Disability Rights UK, and the Citizens Advice
Bureau (CAB), expresses concern that "the scale of the cuts in
support for some groups of disabled people has not yet been
properly understood, because the changes have been viewed in
isolation."
It outlines five scenarios that show how financial support for
some familes is likely to change after the introduction of the new
benefit, which brings together a range of benefits and credits. For
example, support for families with a disabled child will be cut
from £57 to £28 a week (unless the child is receiving the higher
rate of the care component of the Disability Living Allowance, or
is registered blind).
For parents with high child-care costs, the more paid work they
do, the more they will lose, although those who can work without
incurring child-care costs will be better off, the report
suggests.
The Government estimates that about 2.8 million households will
gain financially from the move to universal credit, and about two
million will lose out. Existing claimants will be provided with
"transitional protection" to ensure that they will not face cash
losses, it says.
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said on
Friday: "The present system of disability support is a tangled mess
of premiums and add-ons, which is highly prone to error, and
baffling for disabled people themselves. The universal credit will
deliver a simpler and fairer system, with higher payments for the
most severely disabled people, and improved support for carers.
"The CAB report is highly selective, and ignores large numbers
of people who will gain from the new support and who have welcomed
these changes. This includes families who will get help with
child-care costs for the first time, paying a higher rate of
support for all children who are registered blind, and increased
financial support for the disabled people who face the most serious
barriers to supporting themselves through work."
Comment