The pressure on the coalition to reconsider controversial cuts to disability payments increased last night after it emerged the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has placed himself at odds with ministers over a key plank of the welfare reform bill. .
Johnson's response to a consultation on changes to the Disability Living Allowance is critical of planned changes that will see hundreds of thousands of disabled people potentially lose benefits of up to £70 a week for care and mobility expenses.
Johnson is concerned that the changes could lead to financial hardship and social isolation for chronically ill and disabled people, and push an already disadvantaged group deeper into poverty.
His submission states: "While some reform may be necessary … the mayor is concerned that, if the focus of this reform is solely efficiency driven, government may fail to ensure that the needs of disabled people are adequately met."
It adds that the changes could "potentially condemn the parents of disabled children and young people, and the children themselves, to a life of financial hardship rather than financial assistance".
His objections– which were submitted early last year but only came to light after disability activists requested to see responses under the Freedom of Information Act – will increase pressure on the government before key debates on the welfare reform bill in the Lords over the next two weeks.
Johnson's concerns over the DLA changes could harden attitudes among coalition peers. Last month 13 Lib Dem peers and one Tory helped defeat government plans to cut housing benefit payments for social housing tenants with spare bedrooms.
Liam Byrne, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said: "We have argued that the reform of DLA is a shambles. Most people in the Labour party believe that reforms are necessary but government has set about reform of DLA in a hamfisted way that risks plunging into poverty people who have paid in and need support."
The government proposes to replace the Disability Living Allowance with a so-called Personal Independence Payment (PIP). This would focus payments on claimants deemed to be most in need as a way of reducing spending on this benefit by 20% by 2015-16.
The Disability Living Allowance is paid to around 3.2 million people, including children, with a wide range of illnesses and disabilities including cancer, spinal injury, mental health problems and learning disability. Campaigners say the payments are vital to enable disabled people to work.
The benefit is typically used to pay for equipment and mobility aids, travel costs and expenses related to specific medical conditions such as special diets.
Johnson's submission also makes it clear that he objects to the government's proposal to cut benefit to people currently receiving lower-end DLA payments of around £20 a week.
It states: "The mayor does not support this change, as those on the lower rate component … may lose their access to this benefit."
The mayor's objections were uncovered by a network of disability activists and bloggers, including Sue Marsh and Kaliya Franklin, loosely based around the Diary of a Benefit Scrounger and Broken of Britain blogs.
Their report, Responsible Reform, analysing the proposed changes to the Disability Living Allowance, to be published on Monday, finds that Johnson's objections are shared by the "overwhelming majority" of respondents to the consultation.
A spokesperson for Johnson said: "The mayor has made his views known in a thoughtful and comprehensive submission to the government. His focus is always to ensure that vulnerable Londoners are protected in any fiscal and legislative change."
The Responsible Reform report claims the government has misrepresented the level of opposition in its formal response to the consultation, and has consistently used inaccurate figures to exaggerate the rise in claimants.
Marsh said: "We believe that reform must be measured, responsible and transparent, based on available evidence and designed with disabled people at the very heart of decision-making. Currently, we do not believe this to be the case.
"While disabled people welcome reform of DLA where it will simplify the system and better support their needs, they do not want a new benefit. They believe it is a costly irrelevance during a time of austerity.
"We urge members of the House of Lords, across party political boundaries, to take note of this research and the strength of opposition to the proposals. It is not too late for them to halt these deeply damaging reforms."
A DWP spokesperson said: "Disability Living Allowance is an outdated benefit which fails to target support at those who need it most. Our initial consultation ran almost a year ago and our proposals have developed significantly since then. We have been working closely with disabled people and disability organisations on the introduction of the Personal Independence Payment and have listened to their views".
Paul Farmer, the chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, said: "Rather than getting out of control as the government claims, DLA has been increasingly going to people who really need it.
"The proposed 20% cut to the budget will have an enormous impact."
Comments
6 January 2012 3:25PM
I cannot believe I am reading this! Is a Tory saying it is not nice to attack the weak? That is enough to make your brain fry!
6 January 2012 3:27PM
About time someone notices what is being done to the disabled in this country. Well done to Boris for taking a proper look at the issues involved, and for highlighting it. There is a very long way to go, but this is a step in the right direction
6 January 2012 3:32PM
Well done Sue and Kaliya. Knowing Boris Johnson is more keen to speak out about the DLA reforms (and Housing Benefit) than Ed Miliband turns things upside down some what.
As a London resident I'd like to know what Ken Livingstone has to say about this too. Be interesting in the mayoral race and it might kickstart debate in the Labour party over the issue too. Maybe the big political parties will start remembering that so called 'scroungers' are also tax payers and voters. The last election was so tight I can't imagine any party can afford to isolate around 3.2 million potential voters. Or piss off the millions of carers whose only recognition of the precious work they do and the money they save the state is the Carers' Allowance they are entitled to when someone receives DLA?
6 January 2012 3:34PM
Boris defending the poor and disabled, while Labour tossers like Liam Byrne are busy thinking of dozens more hoops for the poor to jump through.
Deary me, what a crazy world.
6 January 2012 3:37PM
Well done to the people who got the FOI request to discover this information. I just wish Boris had stood up earlier and published his response. His public support would have been great over the last year.
DLA is just one part though of the changes that are affecting disabled people and carers. Changes to all benefits are on top of the cuts to social care, reorganisation of the NHS, increased transport and heating costs, and everything else. All these changes need considering together, not in isolation. I hope Boris and others will support Pat's Petition which calls on the government to stop and review the cuts to benefits and services which are falling disproportionately on disabled people, their carers and families.
6 January 2012 3:47PM
Good on Boris, it's sadly an all-too rare position on the subject from a politician.
The fact he's a tory is almost irrelevant. The long-term ill, sick and disabled are obviously seen as easy targets by all three of the main parties.
Recent noises from Labour about 'out-flanking' the coalition on benefits made my stomach churn.
What's crazy is, instead of a 'beat the disabled' competition, they could all agree that it's morally wrong to use people on such benefits for political point-scoring.
6 January 2012 3:47PM
im sorry but i just cant believe a Tory cares!.....
6 January 2012 3:49PM
i know brother! im in a state of shock!.....
6 January 2012 3:54PM
Yes, he's a cute hoor all right. Nice bit of a pincer movement coming from the right.
6 January 2012 3:58PM
I cannot believe I am reading this! Is a Tory saying it is not nice to attack the weak?
Mayor Johnson's message of hope to the vulnerable: "Let them eat chicken feed!"
6 January 2012 3:58PM
im sorry but i just cant believe a Tory cares!.....
There is an election in 4 months, that's all...
6 January 2012 4:04PM
Transport costs in London are high and keep increasing. Boris may have been stung by the realisation that the ongoing increases he is imposing mean this kind of DLA cut is likely to have a disproportionate impact on disabled people in London.
But that aside, it's a sensible critique.
6 January 2012 4:07PM
On twitter, in a mere 140 characters, someone posted "This isn't a right vs. left issue, it's a right vs. wrong issue." I don't care who started the mess, who has to pay for it, and which political party wants to try and blame which other party. It doesn't bloody matter - what matters is what we're going to do about it.
Here's to hoping more reports get into more hands in the next coming weeks.
6 January 2012 4:09PM
Bravo Sue and Kaliya.
Two people who will be hailed as heroes by sick and disabled people due to their tireless campaigning and defense of the most vulnerable people in the UK.
As a sick person myself I am often in awe of them. Forget the Olympics: people like them are the true Best of Britain.
Keep fighting!
6 January 2012 4:09PM
Johnson has applied common-sense to the matter, instead of acting as a mouthpiece for the vested interests of Unum (a USA headquartered multinational health and income insurance company of somewhat questionable reputation, which has been highly influential in devising both this and the previous Governments' health and welfare policies).
Boris's grasp of reality and public duty stands in sharp contrast to the other-worldly dogmatic fanaticism of Iain Duncan Smith (now known to be a purveyor of Unum schemes as if they were his own), Grayling, "Lord" Freud, Byrne and David Cameron.
That "other-world" of course being one of predatory and viciously profiteering monopoly capitalism (as warned against by Adam Smith) under which ordinary people are considered no more than disposable commodities....
So well done, Boris Johnson!
6 January 2012 4:13PM
Thanks for mentioning the obvious. Everyone else must be still be digesting the calories from their Christmas Dinner overload.
There is nothing unusual about a Tory seeking an opportunity to boost his image with a bit of bandwagon jumping.
6 January 2012 4:13PM
While I am suspicious of Johnson's motives in line with the upcoming mayoral race, I do feel he is making a valid point and that must be applauded regardless of agenda.
But it also overlooks the other side of the problem.
They need to make the assessments fair again. Atos healthcare are doing a horrible job, both in terms of accuracy and efficiency. The fact that they have been set a quota and have no provision for mental health should enough to worry anybody who respects that the disabled require help and support, in a modern civilised society.
There is nothing they (Atos) are doing that cannot be done by a GP, they do not even diagnose claimants. Debunking the idea they will weed out the fraudulent applicants. It is merely making the vulnerable jump through hoops. There is a ridiculously high rate of refusal, to successful appeal ratio (confirming they are not fit for purpose). They have been criticised by charities and MPs from all sides of the political divide.
Iain Duncan Smith's response to this - rather than resolving the problems at the heart of process, he threatened to remove people's financial support entirely if they wished to appeal. Whether this is possible/legal or not, it shows the attitude of the government.
Some people have actually died of the very illnesses they claimed for, whilst waiting for appeal verdicts.
Ironically the one's most likely to endure the process are the the deceitful and healthy minority that we all want to see punished..
Surely some of this would disgust even the most hardened right winger? You don't have to take my word for it. Do some research. Please. You don't have to change your political allegiance to change bad policies.
6 January 2012 4:19PM
Politician in attempting to be re-elected shocker.
6 January 2012 4:20PM
It is refreshing seeing a politician publicly disagreeing with his own party on such an important topic as this.
This will not make comfortable reading for "Call me Dave", Tory central office, or Labour central office for that matter. I would have included theLibDems but they are now an irrelevance.
Well done Mr. Johnson! Perhaps you are not the buffoon that the press would have us believe after all.
6 January 2012 4:21PM
Not really that crazy when you consider that we had thirteen years of a thinly disguised Tory government under the tossers that called themselves the "Labour" party who perpetuated the worst excesses of Thatcherism. Boris is a bit of a maverick and I wouldn't mind betting that his personal political opinions are somewhat to the left of the current Labour shadow cabinet - not that that puts him even to the left of centre of course but perhaps in the vacated ground that used to be occupied by LimpDem Quislings - before they sold their souls - such as Cable for example.
6 January 2012 4:26PM
Way to go Sue, Kaliya.
If more people log on to Diaryof and Black Triangle or Victims of Atos then Boris has done everyone a favour.
6 January 2012 4:27PM
Surely no-one would think that the mayoral election in 4 months time would motivate Bojo the clown to come out with politically expedient soundbites that he'll recant on, as soon as his re-election is done and dusted ?
6 January 2012 4:28PM
I'm not in the business of defending Boris, or the Tories for that matter, seeing as how I'm a socialist, but to all those saying Boris is just using this as an attempt to look good for the elections, please read the article.
Boris submitted this reply to the consultation back in early 2011. This has only come to light due to a FOI request.
Please *read* the articles before jumping to conclusions, friends!
6 January 2012 4:29PM
A highly articulate, skilled, efficient and organised underclass is being created. Homeless, disabled PhDs galore are in trouble with Benefits agencies. This clamp down on the poorest and sickest members of society will, hopefully, back-fire one day soon.
People like Sue and Kaliya, more power to their elbow, will be joined by thousands of other equally skilled and disadvantaged people being persecuted as 'scroungers'. Just how much is all this re-organisation, testing and retesting of disabled and the endless appeals, costing us as tax payers?
What a waste of resources! The disabled benefit society in so many diverse ways. Why can't they be allowed to cotinue doing so with respect and support? It would be so much cheaper in the long run. It would also avoid growing social unrest.
6 January 2012 4:30PM
By privately responding to a consultation a year ago and never mentioning it? Do you think perhaps his PR team paid Sue Marsh to make the F.O.I. request? all part of some cunning plan?....
There is such a thing as being too cynical. Yes, much of what politicians say and do is arranged for popularity and seeking re-election, but that doesn't mean they aren't still people too and they are still capable of having actual opinions and sometimes even acting upon them without seeking political gain.
6 January 2012 4:32PM
Was just about to post that, you've saved me some energy and done it better; thanks!
6 January 2012 4:33PM
Very easy for Boris to strike whatever posture he pleases in public or private about this because he won't have to live with the consequences for the central goverment budget.
Why don't central government figures start criticising Boris because of the impact of his bus fare rises on the poorest workers? It would serve him right if they did.
Anyway, blustering Boris Johnson wouldn't be where he is today without massive biased coverage from the Evening Standard, edited by Geordie Greig. Educated where? You guessed it, surprise surprise, just like Boris, at Eton and Oxford.
I very much doubt he would even have a job commentating for the Telegraph if it weren't for that quirk of privilege.
He would just be an unemployed, upper class bullshitter.
6 January 2012 4:43PM
I don't give a sod why he's doing it, the fact is he's done it; and it's more than Labour has yet done - I wouldn't have looked to Boris as the harbinger of a new political alignment, but I'll take it if there's nothing else on offer.
6 January 2012 4:45PM
Talk Is Cheap.
What's Boris going to do besides talk?
That's right - nothing.
He is just mouthing off, ineffectual as ever.
6 January 2012 4:48PM
While what Boris says is laudable, and quite correct, it's no different to what very many people have been saying over the past year, and especially since the WRB hit the Commons and then then the Lords.
He is, however, the only one up for re-election - something that seems to have been overlooked by most on Twitter this afternoon. This is the real Boris, and let's not forget it:-
http://www.dpac.uk.net/2012/01/boris-puts-disabled-and-older-peoples-lives-at-risk/
6 January 2012 4:48PM
Here's the consultation document in full.
I was born cynical, but bloody hell, after reading this wholehearted rejection of DLA reform (including completely opposing a private company like Atos carrying out medical assessments) and bearing in mind Boris' previous comments about the issues of Housing Benefit reform, I think his office really does feel more about this than simple electioneering. (Even though as I pointed out benefit claimants are also voters.)
Well worth a read.
6 January 2012 4:58PM
Anyone would think he's up for election
6 January 2012 5:00PM
Somewhere along the way, statements must have been mixed up. I don't believe any politician as they all lie, but more so a Tory wanting to keep his post.
6 January 2012 5:11PM
Cameron the nice Tory that spins lies and smiles , pull back the mask and you see Maggie ,same old tories
6 January 2012 5:11PM
Thank you Patrick -
thank goodness at least one Guardian journalist upholds this paper's proud tradition of speaking for the voiceless.
The funding for Sue and Kaliya's research was raised by an appeal leading to very generous donations from various supporters, including many disabled people who have little themselves but are adamant that the truth needs to be exposed.
What has been achieved on slender resources and within tight deadlines is astonishing especially when you consider the difficulties Sue and Kaliya have to cope with every day.
Read the blogs - Patrick has provided links.
Chris Grayling has written a response to a question from a Scottish MP which includes the following facts - 31 people have died of the illnesses they were claiming benfits for in the last 3 years; 240,000 claimants are expected to have appeals heard this year at an additional cost in administration alone of £60m; Tribunal hearings across the UK are now being held at weekends; Atos, despite getting £100m pa to fulfil their contract are unable to supply staff to work in Jobcentres to deal with queries so the government has to set up a helpline as an emergency measure.
My current claim for ESA and my complaints associated with it have now elicited the following documentary evidence -
Atos is advising the DWP on when and where to review cases;
Atos has reviewed, reported on, and recommended further assessment of my case without evidence it requested and before the deadline it imposed for return of that evidence;
Atos has recommended specialist assessment of my case where no pathology applicable to that specialty exists;
Atos has failed to provide said unnecessary specialist at the WCA;
Atos has refused to comply with reasonable subject access requests under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 Principle 6;
Atos has posted sensitive data to the wrong address in breach of Principle 7 of the Act, and lost documents in the process.
It seems to me that Atos is, de facto, deciding when, where, and how claimants are reassessed - they are doing this too soon, too often, with no evidence, hiding behind the DWP when challenged, and being paid for this.
Should Atos staff become involved further in the decision making process, they will effectively be running the ESA benefit system.
DWP decision makers are representatives of the Secretary of State and are legally bound to ensure awards or disallowances of benefit are impartial, accurate, and comply with social security law. No such constraints apply to Atos staff.
This is a national scandal, and while Sue and Kaliya and their supporters continue to fight the good fight, I will make my case to anyone who will listen.
My MP, the DWP, and the Information Commissioner are dealing with my allegations as I write. This may take some time.
Long before I get a response, I will have found out whether I am to be allowed ESA or be forced to go through the appeals process again for the third time in as many years.
Even if Boris Johnson has an ulterior motive in this, for once he is doing something right. Good for him.
6 January 2012 5:12PM
Why locate this within the Flat Earth perspective of left/right? Why not locate it within the area of competence? Some people aren't competent to work, for genuine reasons, of health or lack of ability, and even if they did, they'd be putting any employers livelihood at risk. Employers would be wise not to employ them. Not wanting to work is a different matter however - the system is far too complex and a lot slower than it used to be even in Thatcher's time.
First point, Tony Blair was responsible for the ATOS fiasco, but I don't recall any complaints when Labour were in power, even though the same absymal incompetence levels must have applied. They openly admit that the whole procedure is more to do with interpreting the law over a tick-box test than deciding fitness to work according to sound medical criteria.
Second point, irrespective of the performance of the Tory-led coalition, Boris Johnson is probably right. He is no buffoon. Iain Duncan Smith is incompetent insofar as he promised to simplify the benefits system, make it fairer and reduce its cost which in over a year he hasn't successfully done. Simplification means a bit more than creating the bureaucratic nonsense of benefits sanctions requiring more bums on seats, more lawyers, and more time-wasting. It means reducing the number and scope of benefits, making sure they are paid to those that genuinely need them, and time-limiting the rest, linking it to training and work. Efficiency savings are what are needed in his department. Otherwise you end up with a pool of people whose skills are lost and they become uncompetitive when the economy eventual picks up. He should learn from the Thatcher era when not only was a an enormous amount of money talent wasted, but an important resource - North Sea oil was squandered on paying out benefits, so now instead of using our own energy reserves to get industry working and exporting we've become dependent on her 'evil empire' for gas. How clever is that? There's potentially a lot of gas in the North West, so why isn't the Department for Work and Pensions onto it, instead of playing silly games with tick-box tests?
The truth is the job that Iain Duncan-Smith is botching up isn't very easy, as it hasn't been properly addressed for a long time, but the longer it goes on, the more unsustainable it gets, and after over a year in office the system is neither fairer, nor more cost-effective. Obviously the worse it gets, the more unemployment there will be. I worked throughout a period of severe disability, and I'm glad I did, as it provided continuity, which proved important in the post-recovery period. I couldn't have done that without a skill though, and I've still got to pay tax. Although I can't thank the medical staff enough, I'd rather have sued Iain-Duncan Smith than put bread on his plate, for not cracking down on a ridiculous system designed to increase the number of state-funded bureaucrats but the system is so unfit for purpose that's I'd waste my life trying. I'd rather not look back, and simply not support Tory or Labour for moral reasons.
6 January 2012 5:12PM
Boris doing what he does best , crying crocodile tears again
6 January 2012 5:15PM
Whoops!
Should read 31 people have died of the diseases they were claiming benefits for WHILE WAITING FOR APPEAL.
Apologies.
6 January 2012 5:17PM
Now, over to Red Ken.
6 January 2012 5:18PM
Boris doesn't need to tell us, we already know and have been saying so, tell Cameron and the lickspittle blob of jelly that is Clegg.
6 January 2012 5:21PM
Quite right.
I would far rather support a Labour Party that introduced ATOS than a dirty stinking Tory that condemns them.
That's what being a left winger is all about.
Hurrah for Labour. Hurrah for Tribalism. F'k the disabled.
Depressing.
6 January 2012 5:24PM
Oh bollocks, he hasn't released anything, this was discovered by the campaigners after a freedom of information request.
All the "wise old cynics" who say it's just electioneering miss this fact
6 January 2012 5:32PM
They are missing every fact. Apart from the fact Boris is a Tory.
It's this sort of attitude that allowed a labour government to lay the groundwork with little uproar from it's supporters.
6 January 2012 5:40PM
Boris for the Top Job I say! He's a good fella! Got all his records!
6 January 2012 5:46PM
For those who may not know, this is how much - or little - DLA actually is.
Lower rate care component, to be abolished this April, is £19.55 pw.
A person awarded full rate care and full rate mobility components could get a maximum of £124 pw. This is for - nursing, physio, aids, hoists, wheelchairs, appliances, and repairs; extra heat and laundry costs; incontinence pads, bags, and tubing; special diets or supplements; transport, including lease cars or taxis.
It costs a lot of money to be sick or disabled; for the many DLA claimants who work, they would need a higher than average salary to accommodate the extra expense.
Carers Allowance is means tested and is a maximum of £55 pw so many carers of severely disabled people giving 24 hour care do this for about £2 an hour. DLA is claimed by parents of sick children on their behalf, and the planned changes may mean that some may not qualify as the plan is to means test it all.
Maximum DLA and CA costs £10k pa for a severely disabled child or adult to be cared for at home; residential care for such a person costs in excess of £100,000 pa.
Fact - multimillionaire Cameron claimed full DLA for his late son Ivan.
This is absolutely as it should be - these benefits should be based on clinical need. Shame he wants this right removed from the rest of us.
6 January 2012 5:54PM
If it was possible to inject Rheumatoid Arthritis into the veins of these sick callous cold hearted bastards who are making up rules that will make those who suffer with this deadly disease even more unbearable, I would gladly relish the prospect of watching them suffer and screamin pain when RA crippled them to the point that they could not wipe their own rotten arseholes.....
The RA Curse
The pain,”Oh” the hammer blow pain
As rheumatoid arthritis attacks again
Once nimble fingers and agile limbs
Are distant memories when RA begins
A sudden ache or a stiffening limb
Or bones that hurt from deep within
You see your doctor and he will say
“Take these pills and it will go away”
The pain persists and getting worse
But you've never heard of the RA curse
The swelling joints on all your limbs
The unknown fear of what this means
A blood test shows a negative blip
Rheumatoid Arthritis has got a grip
This dreadful disease, this painful curse
Starts crippling the body and getting worse
Distorted fingers and twisted joints
Toes that swell, way-out of shape
Screaming torture each step you make
The pain you feel is best described
As a six inch nail being hammered inside
Or your fingers crushed in a workman’s vice
The pressure increases within its grip
The bones and sinews distort and split
So don’t dismiss RA out of hand
RA effects both woman and man
Life can play some evil tricks
“YOU” may be the next one to suffer with it
Peter Wicks
Give me a bottle of RA and and a needle and syringe I will gladly disable the sick gits who thought this one up
6 January 2012 6:03PM
This is an amazing revelation - like finding lice in the hair shirt of a martyr. One knew he was marvellous - but this marvellous? Let us shed tears of joy.
If Johnson were fighting as an independent, there might be some mileage in the idea that he is not your standard Tory. But he is being funded by the Tory party (a particularly unpleasant incarnation of it) and hopes to lead it some day. So a reality check might be needed.
A great deal of work has been done in the Lords on this issue. There are a lot of people who object to what is being done to the disabled by the Conservatives. Must we really be so grateful to any Tory who isn't quite such a bastard?
6 January 2012 6:08PM
Don't forget the potential disabling effects of the faulty Breast Implants. That has yet to be seen!
Still the Private sector can feel self assured that the bottom line was good!
6 January 2012 6:10PM
Good for Boris, I do wonder why he kept his views on this quiet if he was so against it? It only came to light due to information request maybe he didnt want to be so outspoken against his party? Still its one more voice with us!
6 January 2012 6:12PM
@carren
It won't stop with the breast implants, apparently - cue exploding buttocks...