Welfare reform -PIP – in The Lords
The government faces another rebellion over its welfare Reform Bill after opponents tabled an amendent in the House of Lords.
Baroness Grey-Thompson, a successful disabled athlete and a TV sports presenter is seeking to amend parts of the bill to ensure that there would have to be a pilot scheme before the new assessment regime for disability living allowance is introduced.
Campaigners against the bill argue that only once the scheme is shown to work safely should it be expanded to include all two million claimants of the benefit.
The proposal
The coalition proposes to replace the working-age disability living allowance (DLA) with a new personal independence payment, and cut spending by 20%. DLA is a welfare payment designed to help people look after themselves and aimed at those who find it difficult to walk or get around. The government says it will review its proposals after three years. However, critics point out that this is too long and hundreds of thousands of people will have lost their benefits.
The allowance
The allowance pays out a maximum of £73.60 a week, its middle rate is a little over £49 and the lowest payment less than £20.
The government argues that in eight years the numbers claiming DLA has risen from 2.5 million to 3.2 million, an increase of around 30%, which will cost the taxpayer £12.6bn this year.
Lets see what happens today ….
