31/05/2012

Qualifying period:

Committee’s recommendation: to give those with sudden onset conditions such as stroke or traumatic injury immediate eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) the same as those with terminal illness.

Government response: The government has refused to give immediate eligibility to those with sudden onset conditions. Instead the government pointed to the support that the NHS already provides for in-patients and said that there is a range of means-tested and non-means-tested support in place for less acute out patients.

Draft PIP eligibility criteria:

Committee’s recommendation: that the government take into consideration factors such as housing, access to public transport and hilly locations in the activity descriptors.

Government’s response: The government refused to take such factors into consideration saying that it would create a more subjective and inconsistent assessment.

Other government responses included:

Media coverage: The committee recommended that the government take steps to ensure that information provided in the media is accurate and put in context.

The government response was to highlight that the disability strategy will aim to change attitudes and behaviour. 

Inclusion London comment: Government’s commitment to improve their portrayal of disabled people in the media has to be seriously questioned as in a newspaper article, printed only three days after the report was published, Ian Duncan Smith incorrectly spoke about ‘abuse and fraud’ of the benefits system by disabled people.  Also the government has delayed the publication of the disability strategy to later this year.

Policy objectives:  The government has previously announced its intention to save 20% of the DLA/PIP budget.  However, the committee pointed out that the 20% figure was (incorrectly) based on growth of 29%. In reality growth is closer to 16 %, which takes into account demographic change, also PIP only applies to those of working age.  The government responded by saying it will update the figure it intends to save from the DLA/PIP budget, when benefit rates are announced and the design of PIP is more advanced.

Communication and consultation:

The committee expressed concern that the initial consultation was only 10 weeks in length and over the Christmas period, while the recommended period is 12 weeks. 

The government responded by saying they thought 10 weeks was adequate as it was limited to the general principles of reform.

Inclusion London comment: We do not agree. The basic principles of reform are the most crucial area of consultation rather than the details of the reform, which while important, cannot fundamentally change the reform.

The government’s full response is available at:
www.parliament.uk/documents/joint-committees/human-rights/IL_Government_Response.pdf