Disabled people, those with long-term conditions and their families are being hit hard by cuts to the benefits and services they need to live their lives. The Hardest Hit campaign, organised jointly by the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC) and the UK Disabled People’s Council, brings together individuals and organisations to send a clear message to the Government: stop these cuts. You can find our key messages in this document. Key messages on the Hardest Hit
Government Overturns Welfare Reform Bill Amendments
Last night MPs overturned key amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill that had been won in January by Peers in the House of Lords. This is a blow to disability campaigners as it reinstates many of the Governments original proposals, including one which plans to reduce contributory Employment and Support Allowance to 12 months for those with a disability, but who are judged capable of working at some point in the future.
Ministers say they will use a convention known as “financial privilege” to effectively end further parliamentary opposition and push the Bill through to become law with no further challenge.
It is important to recognise that thanks to sustained pressure by campaigners we have had some significant victories – changing proposals that would have had a serious negative effect on the lives of disabled people, including:
- Overturning plans to cut disability benefits from people living in care homes
- The Government is no longer going ahead with plans to increase the time people must wait before they qualify for PIP, the successor to Disability Living Allowance
- Although stopping short of agreeing a full review, the Government committed to important concessions on the implementation of PIP.
There is more to be done, on Personal Independence Payments (PIP) in particular. The DWP consultation on the detail of this benefit that will replace DLA is currently open and later in the year regulations will be laid in Parliament. This means that we continue to campaign to ensure that the needs of all disabled people are properly understood and recognised in this new benefit.
24 hours until Welfare Reform Bill vote: tweet your MP
In 24 hours MPs will start voting on whether to back important changes made to the Welfare Reform Bill by the House of Lords.
This is our last chance to make sure that thousands of people with disabilities and long-term conditions get the financial support they need from the welfare state.
If you’ve got Twitter, please tweet your MP asking them to back the extended two year time-limit on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
Here’s how:
1) Find out if your MP is on Twitter here: simply enter your postcode or select your constituency.
2) Feel free to write your own tweet, or you can choose one of our pre-prepared ones:
Please vote tomorrow to back the Lords’ #WRB Clause 51 amendments to support the #hardesthit ill & disabled people. #vote2years
94% of people on ESA need more than 12 months to get well. Please vote to extend ESA to at least 2 years. #vote2yrs #WRB #hardesthit
Vote to support ill & disabled people. Vote to keep partners and carers in work. Please #vote2yrs on #WRB ESA clauses. #hardesthit
The final fight: contact your MP now
In just under one month, the Welfare Reform Bill will make its way back to the House of Commons.
MPs will have the chance to either vote for or reject some important changes made by the Lords designed to help people with disabilities and long-term conditions access the support they need.
The vote of your MP will help determine the fate of disabled people across the United Kingdom who rely on welfare benefits.
Can you email your MP and ask them to make benefits fair?
Click Here to contact your MP in Support of the Campaign
Is your MP a Liberal Democrat?
Liberal Democrat party conference in September 2011 passed a policy motion which opposed any arbitrary time limit on contributory Employment and Support Allowance (cESA), which the Hardest Hit coalition welcomed.
The one-year time limit on how long someone can receive cESA was originally in the bill despite the Department for Work and Pensions estimating that 94% of those on cESA and in the work related activity group will take longer than this to find work. While the House of Lords did not remove this limit from the bill entirely, an amendment was successfully passed to make this time limit a minimum of two years (potentially more). But in February MPs will vote on whether to accept this Lords amendment, so please urge your own MP to vote to support disabled people.
If you live in a constituency with a Lib Dem MP, please make a special effort to go to see your MP in person this week (the vote in the House of Commons could be as early as 1 February). As Lib Dem policy is against any time limit, we believe that Lib Dem MPs should at least support this Lords amendment which extends the time limit and so mitigates the effect for some people.
The below table gives details of when Lib Dem MPs are holding their surgeries before the end of the month. All Lib Dem MPs are listed, some may have other surgeries which we do not currently have information about. It is recommended that you telephone the constituency office to check details or make an appointment.
If you don’t have Microsoft Word installed click this link to view the table online using Google Docs: Liberal Democrat MP surgeries (online version)
Government rethink on qualifying for Personal Independence Payment
Following intense campaigning by disabled people, the Government has announced it no longer plans to extend the qualifying period for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) from three to six months. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has responded to criticism that doubling the qualifying period would penalise claimants who suddenly become ill or disabled.
The Government rethink on its welfare plans means claimants will be eligible for PIP if they have been living with a health condition or disability that limits their independence for three months and will continue to experience the same barriers to daily living and mobility for a further nine months.
This is a big victory and proves how important the Hardest Hit campaign has been in getting the Government to amend the Welfare Reform Bill.
