General News
Code green: benefits warning
Following our interview with care minister Phil Hope and his refusal to rule out a threat to DLA, Jim Elder-Woodward flags up some concerns
Green PaperThe one state benefit that has historically been recognised as compensation for disabled peopleโs extra needs has been the attendance allowance. In 1992, this allowance was combined with the mobility allowance to form a new allowance called the Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
When the legislation went through Parliament, Government ministers made it clear that this allowance was in respect of costs in addition to personal care, such as extra laundry, extra wear and tear of clothing, and having to shop locally or take taxis instead of buses. No one suggested that DLA was meant to pay for personal care itself.
The present green paper on the reform of the social care system, Shaping the Future of Care Together, now proposes to take the Attendance Allowance from old people (they donโt get the mobility allowance part of DLA) and give it to local authorities to shore up their ever-increasing social care budget. While not mentioning DLA itself, the Government also wishes to take the care component of DLA from younger disabled people and give it to local authorities to pay for social care as well.
While not specifically mentioning benefits other than Attendance Allowance, the green paper only mentions โsome (other) disability benefitsโ, which can only refer to the care component of DLA.
In total, if both attendance allowances were to be scrapped, that would be equivalent to disabled and elderly people throughout the UK losing an estimated ยฃ8.5 billion in benefits โmoney that stimulates local economies, protects local shopping, pays for small jobs around the house and generally meets outside needs.
Unfortunately, there is nothing in the green paper about forcing local councils to spend this money on social care โ in the jargon, ring fencing the money. So each local authority could, if it wished, spend the money on anything from rat-catching to public parks.
The green paper recogยญnises that the UKโs disability benefits system provides a universal entitlement, which does not depend on where a person lives. It also offers a cash budget that can be spent on the services anyone wants; and people often use the benefits to support lower-level needs in ways that help them to stay independent and well for longer.
Withdrawing attendance allowance from elderly and disabled people and giving it to local authorities to administer in their own higgledy-piggledy way is also contrary to the Governmentโs own policy of โPersonalisationโ.
If the UK Government did succeed in transferring this money to local authorities, would the authorities still be able to charge individuals for social care? If they did, then the actual disposable income of elderly and disabled people would be reduced even more. This presents a moral and political dilemma.
Sometimes, governments fly kites: proposals so awful that when marginally less awful measures are eventually brought in instead, the public applauds when it should still be opposing. This devious political ploy is as Machiavellian as it is disingenuous. We must all be on our guard!
Source: Disability Now eNewsletter October 2009
Additional Information
Country: United Kingdom of Great Britain
Website: http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/latest-news2/news-focus/code-green-benefits-warning
Email: N/A
Phone: N/A
Contact Person: N/A
Source: Email from: Frank Mulcahy
When: 05/10/2009
