‘Benefit reforms are not fit for purpose’

CAMPAIGNERS have slammed controversial new disability benefits reforms.

They were giving evidence as part of a Commons women and equalities committee inquiry into the Government’s National Disability Strategy.

They mostly focused on plans in the Transforming Support white paper to scrap the work capability assessment (WCA), and to tighten the benefits sanctions regime.

Under the WCA plans, sick and disabled people who cannot work would only be able to qualify for a new health element of universal credit if they also received the extra costs benefits personal independence payment (PIP) or disability living allowance.

This would mean that responsibility for deciding if a disabled person had to carry out work-related activity would be handed to work coaches, who would be likely to have no healthcare qualifications.

Bad practice

Fazilet Hadi, head of policy for Disability Rights UK, said that leaving it to individual work coaches to decide what work-related activity a disabled person should carry out would leave disabled people exposed to bad practice.

She claimed there would be people who were not fit for work but would not qualify for PIP and therefore be ineligible for the new health element of universal credit under the new system.

Martin McLean, senior policy adviser for the

National Deaf Children’s Society, said: “It’s frustrating that disabled young people have not been considered because they can face the biggest barriers in terms of moving into work.”

The disabled Conservative peer Lord Kevin Shinkwin said: “In effect, it is one step forward, two steps back in terms of creating concern and anxiety among disabled people.

“I don’t think the PIP assessment was designed to be fit for purpose for what it is now being proposed it should be used for.”