Welfare Reform Bill

Lord Dodds of Duncairn Excerpts

Wednesday 15th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Dame Anne Begg]

My point is that if the Government take contributory ESA away from this group of people and then change the criteria so that they no longer qualify for DLA or the new PIP, those people will end up with no independent income at all. That is the connection. We cannot look at the Government’s proposals to remove DLA and introduce PIP in isolation, because they are putting disabled people under all sorts of other obligations. If we look at the benefits in isolation, we will get into trouble, and that is what leads to the fears of disabled people, because many of them, particularly those with more profound disabilities who are trying to live independently in the community, have complex funding packages that they have put together to make things work for them. They are dependent on the personal care element of DLA for their care and on housing benefit to pay for their rent; they are dependent on local government facility grants to adapt their houses; and they are dependent on the mobility element of DLA to provide them with transport or, for many of them, with cars through the Motability scheme. These are complex packages, and if the Government interfere with some of them the whole edifice could collapse. That helps to explain why there is so much fear among people with disabilities about what the Government are doing. They feel that the Government are not seeing the whole picture—that they are seeing different pieces of the jigsaw but not putting it together or looking at the impact that those pieces will have on individuals.

Part of the problem with universal credit and with PIP is that we do not yet know the criteria, the payments or who will qualify for what, so it is impossible for individuals to sit down with all the new regulations, which nobody has seen because they have not been published, and work things out, saying, “Right, in my condition, I know I will get that, that and that, and I can add that together and that will then tell me whether I am going to be better off or worse off under the new proposals.” It is difficult to judge the situation, because we do not have that detail.

[Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North) (DUP)]

The hon. Lady is doing the House a great service in teasing out the complexities, and in illustrating just exactly what is and is not known. Is not that at the root of many problems? How can we proceed with these measures when our constituents have so many unanswered questions? They have asked me, but I am unable to relay with any certainty what is going to happen to them, so surely the issues that have been raised deserve full clarification. Certainly, what has been illustrated as definitely going to happen demands that the amendments be carried.

[Dame Anne Begg]

Much of Monday’s debate was about the fact that the regulations for PIP, for housing benefit and for universal credit do not exist, so it is difficult to judge exactly what will happen to individuals.

There is also a fear among disabled people, because the Government sometimes take a simplistic view of what a disability might be. Disability living allowance was quite clear, because it was to cover the extra costs of disability, but one worry is that, under the PIP proposals, aids will be taken into consideration. The implication is that, if someone has an aid, they do not have the extra costs associated with their disability—that somehow the aid will miraculously take away those costs.

It has been said—the Minister did so in front of the Work and Pensions Committee—that, if a wheelchair-using Olympic athlete has a university degree, it is reasonable to place some work obligations on them. That might be the case, but being an Olympic athlete who needs a wheelchair does not take away the need for an adapted car. They still need the car, the wider parking space, to build the ramps to get into their house, the adapted shower that the local authority’s facilities grant often does not pay for, and the adapted bathroom.

In many cases, therefore, aids and adaptations do not take away the need for extra money. In fact, people with disabilities sometimes need the extra money to run some of those aids, such as an electric wheelchair and the extra costs that that entails, or an electric buggy that gets them around the shops. Rarely are such aids supplied by the NHS or, indeed, by the local authority, and DLA was such a good benefit because people could choose how they used it in order to fulfil their needs and lead an independent life.

If disabled people have work obligations placed on them, they will need extra money for travel costs. I could be as fit as possible and have the best super-duper wheelchair in the world, but with the best will in the world I am still not going to be able to get on the underground. It just will not happen, so we need to ensure that we get PIP right, and to ensure that it enables disabled people and does not hinder them.

Disability living allowance, particularly the mobility element, acts not only as a passport but as a proxy for all sorts of other things. Local authorities and organisations such as railway companies and cinemas use an individual’s qualification for upper-rate mobility allowance as a proxy for the fact that they must be disabled and therefore qualify for a disabled railcard, a disabled cinema ticket or a blue badge—or, in my local authority, a green badge, for which we also have to pay 20 quid a year, so it is not as though we are getting it for nothing. That means that people do not have to be assessed time and again, which makes things much easier. For many people, the knowledge that they have been assessed and qualify for upper-rate mobility allowance is more valuable than the money. I would not say that the money is not important—of course it is—but access to a blue badge with reasonable ease is also incredibly valuable.

Welfare Reform Bill

Lord Dodds of Duncairn Excerpts

Monday 13th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Yvonne Fovargue]

I will, but to say that local government is the main funder of CABs is to oversimplify the matter. I know of one bureau that had at least five different funding streams—the primary care trust, legal aid, the local authority, housing associations and a hospital. CABs rely on a mixture of funding streams, many of which are being reduced at the moment. Local authorities cannot take up all the slack, much though they should be continuing advice services.

Investing in early advice saves money. Avoiding costly tribunals and appeals is vital, and people who do not have access to advice are more likely to pursue their case to the appeal stage, costing them money and stress. Public confidence in any new system is vital. Advice on welfare benefits is crucial, and I urge the Government to accept amendment 26.

[Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North) (DUP)]

The hon. Lady is making a powerful point. The CAB in my constituency—in the Rathcoole area, which is very needy—does excellent work along the lines that she has described. Does she agree that whatever one’s views about the other amendments or the Bill, everybody should support amendment 26? Clear advice to constituents and clients is what it is all about, whatever one’s views.

[Yvonne Fovargue]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman, and I agree totally. The amendment would simply give people the opportunity to receive advice about their rights and responsibilities. That is crucial at any stage, but particularly when a new welfare benefit system is brought in. I urge all Members to support the amendment.

State Pension Reform

Lord Dodds of Duncairn Excerpts

Monday 4th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[Steve Webb]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend and I know of the expertise she brings to the Select Committee on these issues. We propose that bringing up the next generation or caring for an elderly relative will be valued by society just as much as a high-paid job. A year will be a year will be a year. If someone is contributing to society in that way or in paid work or in other ways, it will bring them one thirtieth of a single state pension. We think that is a big step in the right direction, which will be widely welcomed around the House.

[Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North) (DUP)]

We welcome the Green Paper and the consultation that will ensue. We agree that moving away from means-testing and complexity towards a universal flat-rate pension is greatly to be welcomed. The Minister says that this will not entail spending any more money. Given that so many pensioners today do not claim all the means-tested benefits to which they are entitled—this is a big factor in these reforms and should again be welcomed—does it not mean that more money will need to be spent to make up for the fact that people do not claim? If so, will the Minister guarantee that that money will be provided?

[Steve Webb]

The right hon. Gentleman has made an important point, namely that under the current system many people are entitled to top-ups and do not claim them, whereas pretty much everyone claims the state pension. The new system will guarantee that a great many people will live clear of the poverty line for the first time. As the right hon. Gentleman says, a price tag is attached, and we have factored that into our costings. Although the prospective state pensions of the very highest earners will be lower than they would otherwise have been, many lower earners and people who would not otherwise have taken up their entitlement to pension credit will be in a better position, and we consider that to be a fairer system overall.

Disability Living Allowance

Lord Dodds of Duncairn Excerpts

Wednesday 9th March 2011 Westminster Hall

[Guto Bebb (Aberconwy) (Con)]

I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for Arfon (Hywel Williams) on securing this debate. I feel nervous about contributing to the discussion that he has led, as he understands the issue and the field extremely well. I associate myself with the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry): although I feel unqualified to comment on the issue, as an MP, I respect the fact that people come to my surgeries with concerns, and it is important to raise those concerns with the Minister.

I also associate myself with the comments made about the active way in which the Minister has responded to correspondence, especially in relation to constituency matters that I have raised. An effort has been made to communicate, and that communication has been detailed and worth while, and it has been appreciated by constituents. The fact that we are looking at delaying changes to the mobility component until 2013 is welcome. It is a difficult and complex area, and that complexity must be looked at carefully before we implement any changes.

Before I look at the mobility component of DLA, I would like to make a point about the work capability assessment process. I am MP for a constituency where about 42% of the population are first-language Welsh speakers. Time and again, people who come to my surgeries are expected to attend a work capability assessment in which they must explain their position and say whether they are capable of working. Often, they have to do that in English, even though the Welsh Language Act 1993 requires them to be able to do it in Welsh. When someone is in a stressful situation such as that, it is unacceptable that the Department is unable to provide a bilingual service. I have received assurances that the Department is working within the demands of the Welsh Language Act, but time and again the situation on the ground in north Wales does not correspond with those assurances. I would like the Minister to respond to that point.

When I received a letter from the Minister, I almost felt as if she had been in my constituency surgery. The arguments about the complexity of the mobility care component in care homes show that the current situation is not coherent. From talking to people in care homes, it becomes clear that each care home deals with the mobility component in a different way. I have been quite proactive on this issue because I represent a constituency with a high average age—I think I am right to say that the constituency of Aberconwy has the highest average age of any constituency in Wales—and as a result, there are a lot of care homes. My office has spoken to 17 care homes to discuss how they deal with the mobility component and whether it is funded by the local authority. From those 17 care homes, we have had 17 different answers, so the chaos surrounding the issue is clear. It is difficult to move forward with a policy unless we acknowledge that the duplication mentioned by the Department is not constant or ongoing, and that the situation is very different from one case to another. The Government, and the Minister in particular, are trying extremely hard to address the issue in a fair and coherent manner, but to do that we need a long consultation process, which I will certainly feed into.

On a more personal level, it is crucial that consultations take place in a responsible manner. It was distressing to see the parents of a 57-year-old individual who has been in a care home all her adult life come into my surgery. Both those parents are over 80 years old, and are distressed because they believe that the mobility component will be lost. They feel distressed by that, and it is important to point out to constituents that we are genuinely undergoing a consultation process. It is important to ensure that that process is understood and communicated.

[Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North) (DUP)]

The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point as part of an excellent speech. These are real anxieties and concerns because people see that the mobility component is scheduled to be removed. I welcome the fact that the consultation period has been extended, but that compounds the period of great uncertainty for people. There is a bit of a dilemma.

[Guto Bebb]

There is, but I am sure the right hon. Gentleman would agree that a Government who consult and listen are a Government who will succeed. The Department is genuine about the consultation and about listening, and that must be communicated to individuals. We do not want to create undue distress, but I do not think that the Government have communicated well on this issue, and we must take responsibility for that.

I understand that I must conclude my comments before 10.40 am, so I will raise a couple of important points. As I have said, the Minister has been good in responding to almost all my questions, but one question about the discussions the Department has held with the Welsh Assembly Government on this issue has not yet received a response. An excellent point was made about the fact that we are dealing with a complex situation in which the Welsh Assembly Government are responsible for care and social care, but the benefit system is with Westminster. I am slightly concerned that, as yet, the question about what discussions have been held between the Welsh Assembly Government and the coalition Government has not received a response. I am sure that the Minister will write to me or confirm that there have been discussions. We are trying to ensure that the system works, and it is imperative that the social care element and the benefit system interact positively. Part of that interaction in a Welsh context involves good, positive discussion between the Government in Westminster and the Government in Cardiff Bay.