With the electoral arithmetic the way it is, the Liberal Democrats are well-placed to be influential power-brokers following the next general election. In an article for RADAR, John Barrett MP, Shadow Work and Pensions Minister and Shadow Minister for Disabled People for the Liberal Democrats outlines his party’s priorities for delivering disability equality:
Barack Obama reminded us recently that, within one lifetime, we have moved on from people being refused service because of the colour of their skin, to a time when the USA has its first African American President. Why then has it taken so long here in the United Kingdom for those who have disabilities to feel they are an equal part of our society?
We have now seen many changes, which mean that inequality is not acceptable in issues of race, religion and gender, yet for many of the estimated 10 million disabled people in the UK too many aspects of equality have not yet been delivered here at home.
With one in five non-disabled people in work it is shocking that over half of disabled people are still seeing their talents wasted by society’s failure to recognise their potential. The Welfare Reform Bill ought to be a chance for us to re-evaluate the way we look at the relationship between work and disability. However, it seems that bold words from the Government on disability are taking a back seat as Labour and the Conservatives battle one another over who can be toughest on so-called benefit cheats.
As we face a recession and with unemployment nudging the 2 million mark, it will take changes in policy to ensure that disabled people are not pushed even further from the workplace. By adopting a ‘payment by results’ approach to welfare to work there is a risk that providers will simply focus their efforts on helping those already closest to the labour market. Unless we offer real incentives for welfare to work providers to help those with disabilities, yet more talented people will be left languishing on benefits.
In reality, there is an untapped wealth of talent and a willing workforce waiting to be used amongst many disabled people currently out of work. Studies have repeatedly shown that a higher percentage of unemployed disabled people want to work and countless employers, who have used the talent available, can testify that many can also bring additional benefits to the workplace.
We should be focusing on removing the barriers preventing disabled people getting into work rather than fine-tuning the penalties that face those without a job. While entering the workplace would be the ideal for some, for many this is not an option and the benefits available will be a key component of weekly life.
Last month (FEB) at Westminster we passed the most recent changes to up-rate pensions and benefits. While this was welcome as it delivered £6.2billion to pensioners and many others receiving benefits, it again raised the issue which is at the heart of the problem for those who are entitled to help and support – the complexity of the system.
At the eleventh hour on the eve of the debate Ministers were forced to issue hastily prepared statements admitting that because of the complicated nature of the system, they had just discovered that thousands of Invalidity claimants had received incorrect payments. If the Government cannot get to grips with its own system, what hope have those who depend on Government support.
In my own constituency I have produced a special needs information pack to help parents of young children with disabilities navigate the myriad of benefits and services available to them and who to go to for help and advice. Simplifying the system and removing much of the degrading means-testing should be an urgent priority.
Removing people from poverty should be a key measure of the success of any Government and while people are surviving on state support the numbers living in poverty will increase unless there is increased understanding of the costs associated with living with a disability or with a disabled family member. It ought to be a national scandal that disabled people are twice as likely to live in poverty and yet progress has been disappointingly slow.
Uprating benefits by the retail price index only makes matters worse if the weekly costs have gone up at twice that rate. Few people receiving DLA would say that their costs have only increased about 5% this year. With utility bills higher than average for those households in receipt of DLA, massive fuel bills have grown in the last year by 27% in some cases. An urgent review of the method of up-rating benefits received by disabled people is long overdue. This change will be more important in the year ahead as with falling prices it is possible that the retail price index will not increase at all and benefit levels will be cut in real terms.
The Independent Living Agenda and the all-party support it enjoys is welcome. However, as ever the devil is in the detail and it is vital that giving ownership of budgets to individuals is not accompanied by a cut in the level of help available.
Two changes that I have raised with the Government, would make an immediate improvement for many disabled people - now. While we have just experienced the coldest February for 20 years, immediate action should be taken to deliver the winter fuel allowance for those who claim the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance. Not only do those homes with a disabled family member have higher heating costs, in many cases they have a lower than average income. This change would reduce the number of people forced to choose between heating and eating each winter. The second would be to ensure that those who are registered blind received the higher rate mobility component of DLA. The Liberal Democrats are supporting amendments in Parliament to deliver this change. I am surprised that when the Government can find £37 billion to bail out the banks, relatively small amounts to help disabled people are still not found.
Looking forward to the next election it will come as no surprise that I would take issue with RADAR’s prediction that it will be a two horse race. There is every possibility that no one party will have a clear majority after the next election and that the views of every party matter. The Liberal Democrats have a long tradition of fighting hard to deliver on issues of equality. We believe that disabled people are only asking for what is fair – they should be offered nothing less.
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