VIEW, Issue three, 2012
Website:
viewdigital.org
Page 4 Who are the ‘losers’
As MLAs prepare to debate the Welfare Reform Bill, which has been described “as the most significant piece of social legislation for a generation”, Una Murphy looks at who will be mainly affected by the sweeping cutbacks in benefits
T
and voluntary sector believe the following groups of people will be among the welfare reform ‘losers’.
he Welfare Reform Bill is set to be debated by politicians at the Northern Ireland Assem- bly in April. Experts within the community
• People on contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) - most will be confined to 12 months benefit • People in public housing with spare bedrooms – many parents in their 50s with grown up children will have to find extra cash to stay in the family homes • People with disabilities who will lose out from the transfer from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to Personal In- dependence Payment (PIP)
given our rising unemployment and longstanding low pay problem, the outlook is grim for many households here.”
the effects: She outlined some of the welfare reforms and
• Contributory Employment and Sup- port Allowance (ESA): entitlement to be cut to one year - except those in the support group - i.e. most severely dis- abled.
Professor Evason said: “In Northern Ireland the timing of this will depend on how long the Welfare Reform Bill takes to get through our Assembly. “That contributory ESA should be payable for
would appear that there will be no transitional provisions and time already spent on Contributory ESA already will be taken into account. At a stroke, therefore, large numbers will lose entitlement.”
It Professor Eileen Evason said: “Taken as a whole,
one year only, in the bulk of cases, is concerning for two reasons. First, this heralds the end of the na- tional insurance scheme for those of working age. Secondly, and more immediately this may well re- sult in many claimants losing benefit altogether.
• Housing benefit to reflect family size for working age claimants in social hous- ing.
a broader strategy of sweating a public asset by getting people to move on from social housing as household size diminishes. “Those most likely to be affected are people in their fifties whose children have grown up and moved out. “To remain in what they may well regard as the
Professor Evason said: “This adjustment is part of
family home, the parents will have to find the money to bridge the gap that will open up between their rent and housing benefit.”
• DLA replaced by PIP for working age claimants. Professor Evason said: “The Department for
Work and Pensions (DWP) published a consulta- tion paper on this in December 2010. “For working age persons Disability Living Al-
lowance (DLA) will be replaced by the Personal In- dependence Payment (PIP) which will consist of two components (Mobility and Daily Living) payable at higher and lower rates. “Access will be via a form of the Work Capability Assessment. “There will be periodic checks on entitlement. Existing claimants will be migrated on to the new arrangements once they are in place but, as with Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), fewer will qualify for help. The fundamental problem here
is that the benefits intended to cover weekly living expenses are now so paltry that people with dis- ability rely on DLA to cover the costs of essential items such as fuel. “This will have a dramatic impact on the lives of the disabled here. “Moreover, of course, many carers may lose their entitlement to Carers Allowance. Additionally, whilst the objectives of DLA were clear and evi- dence-based, there is a lack of clarity around the purpose of PIP.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25