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Disabled people fear cuts will make life ‘not worth living’

3 February 2011

The coalition Government has revealed several significant changes to the support available to disabled people and their families since May 2010. Announcements by the Chancellor amount to £18 billion cuts to the welfare budget. Disabled people are more reliant on benefits and other public services than other citizens and are increasingly anxious of the impact of the cuts.

Disability Alliance [1] has been surveying disabled people’s views on Government reforms to Disability Living Allowance (DLA) in particular [2]. With 900 responses analysed, the most shocking finding is that:

9% of disabled people and their families fear the Government cuts will cause death, suicide and make lives ‘not worth living’

Neil Coyle, Disability Alliance Director of Policy, says:

“Disabled people are telling us in great numbers that they fear the overall cuts – but that losing Disability Living Allowance in particular has resulted in people questioning the value of their lives”.

Our survey [3] also reveals that:

• over 800,000 disabled people could lose support if the £1 billion target for DLA cuts is realised;
• 13% said cuts will increase their NHS use with further demand also on cash-strapped councils;
• 25% of our respondents are in work but half fear having to quit if they lose access to support;
• half our respondents believe DLA does not meet extra disability-related costs of living – and a third report it is ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ to get by before cuts are implemented; and
• two-thirds of our respondents use DLA to link to other support (eg bus passes, council tax benefit and Carer’s Allowance) and fear that the Government plans will have a ‘domino effect’ which will significantly increase poverty and social exclusion for disabled people and their families.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Minister for Disabled People, Maria Miller MP, confirmed in December 2010 that the Government plans include a 20% cut in DLA expenditure [4]. But the DWP has not yet provided estimates on the number of disabled people and their families who could lose access to support as a result of DLA reform. Nor do the Government plans outline the potential costs to the NHS, Treasury or councils of the current proposals – despite a Welfare Reform Bill being due in mid-February.

Neil Coyle says:

“The proposed changes to disabled people’s support may result in higher costs to the NHS, councils and the Treasury – for hospital treatment, increasing need for residential care and through disabled people and carers being forced to give up work. These potential costs must be examined by the Government before legislation is published in February. Failure to analyse current proposals fully risks a catastrophic explosion of costly demands in the longer-term”.

Notes for editors
[1] Disability Alliance is a UK charity with the aim of breaking the link between poverty and disability. Further information on us is available at: www.disabilityalliance.org
[2] DLA reform was announced in June – with a new medical test and a 20% cut in expenditure. The Government began consulting in December 2010 and plans include: abolishing DLA for working age adults (and potentially children and older people at a later date); introducing a new benefit (the Personal Independence Payment: PIP); but cutting the level of support the PIP will provide. – see: www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/2010/dla-reform.shtml for further information on the Government proposals.
[3] The Disability Alliance survey is available at: www.disabilityalliance.org/dlatest.htm and runs to 10th February 2011.
[4] See: www.ablemagazine.co.uk/exclusive-interview-maria-miller-mp-on-the-dla-consultation/

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