Background
The new coalition Government announced, in its emergency budget, that it would be introducing a new objective DLA medical test.
According to the HM Treasury Budget 2010 policy costings the Government:
"....will introduce an objective medical assessment and revised eligibility criteria for both new and existing working-age claims for Disability Living Allowance, to be rolled out from 2013/14. The assessment will follow a similar process to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) used for claims to employment and support allowance, with a points based system to assess
eligibility to the different rates of the benefit."
It is assumed that this will result in a 20 per cent reduction in caseload and expenditure once fully rolled out.
It is also assumed that existing claimants would be reassessed over three years, with 25 per cent of the caseload reassessed in the first year, 75 per cent by the end of the second year and 100 per cent by the end of the third year.
The Government intends to publish a consultation on the proposed changes shortly - possibly 30 November 2010.
Thank you for your responses
We asked you to tell us what you think about the proposed changes and we received 176 replies. A selection of these are published below.
What next?
Disability Alliance will be responding to the consultation once it has been published and we want you to contribute to this. We will be publishing a questionnaire for you to complete which will be focused on what is in the consultation itself. You contribution will be greatly appreciated.
What you thought about the proposed changes
Here is a selection of your replies.
1. I find this daunting to say the least. I had a medical to get DLA and it took 3 attempts to get the full allowance. Disabled people do not have the "voice" of other sectors in society, so we are an easy target. The changes in Incapacity Benefit & DLA cause concern and fear for all those affected by it and certainly with MS (one of my illnesses) if not all, the stress makes it worse. Mon, Nov 22, 2010 2:53 PM
2. It is just another method to cut the disabled budget. My own experience of DLA medicals over the years has been appalling to the extent my DLA was stopped. This led to loss of personal care and motability car. It took 15 months, and using the whole appeal process, up to a Commissioners appeal to get it re-instated. What safeguards are in place to protect disabled people? When current 'medical experts' can, and do write what they want on a report, how can this new system be any better in protecting us when its sole purpose is to cut costs? Mon, Nov 22, 2010 10:32 AM
3. I had to go to tribunal to get my high rate mobility component, with a comment from the chairperson that having MS, a progressive condition, I would only get worse, so was awarded it indefinitely. I now find I will have to prove again my disability, even though my neuro confirms the diagnosis. Why do we have to fight to get something we've paid towards all our working lives, I still work (just). Maybe we should rename the coalition the new Nazi party and eliminate all disabled people. That would help them balance the books. Sun, Nov 14, 2010 9:32 PM
4. I think this is just way to force people off Disability Benefits and into short term low paid jobs. Who is going to carry out this test? I suspect it is going to be someone employed by the government asking multiple choice questions which may not relate to your specific medical complaint.Fri, Nov 12, 2010 1:34 AM
5. I do not agree with this proposed medical test. My 22-year old daughter has severe brain damage which has left her with uncontrolled epilepsy, learning disability and visual impairment. After she has a seizure, she becomes totally blind for a while and her sight fluctuates when she is tired. She needs her DLA to allow her (and as a result us, her parents) to have a social life and to be able to do so safely....i.e. to have someone accompany her to the cinema, to the shopping centre, bowling alley etc. A medical test will not be able to tell anything about these social needs. Sun, Oct 31, 2010 6:14 PM
6. It's disgusting that those of us who are genuinely disabled and been receiving DLA since its conception as from 2013 will have to medically tested periodically. As a wheelchair user from birth, without DLA my life would be so much more limited and to have to continually need to prove that one is severely disabled is utterly abhorrent. Fri, Oct 29, 2010 2:07 PM7. How do they know there will be a 20% reduction in caseload? This is obviously the target. As a disabled person I have enough worry and misery without the added fear of losing my benefit and all the help this benefit gives me on the say so of someone who is trying to reach a target and due to this witch hunt classes everybody claiming benefits as a scrounger. Easy targets or what? Tue, Oct 26, 2010 4:32 PM
8. This is simply a rearrangement of the rules to cut numbers eligible for DLA. There will undoubtedly be genuine disabled people who will suffer financial and stressful pain because of these changes. How do Disabled people protect themselves from these two situations when they arrive? Fri, Oct 8, 2010 10:55 PM
9. This is just the beginning to taking DLA away all together it has already become very difficult to gain entitlement I work full time with my disability but without my motability car it would be impossible for me to continue to work I am 54 and have never been unemployed. The medical test for ESA has been totally useless and is costing a fortune administering appeals procedures I cannot see how this new test will be any different. Mon, Oct 4, 2010 12:38 PM
10. I am sure that it will be used to control the no. of claims approved. Those of us with experience of the way that medical assessments have been used in the past re- benefits which have regularly seen 'tricksy' behaviour used to discredit claims and claimants by interviewers will have no confidence that the future will see a change in mindset. I am afraid that all benefits are going to see an increase in gate keeping processes operating to reduce the granting of benefit. Sat, Oct 2, 2010 9:36
11. Totally unnecessary & heartless to boot! The uptake of DLA & CA is already low. The Government should be promoting the uptake of DLA & CA, instead of wasting yet more money on trying to reduce the number of DLA recipients, which in turn will reduce eligibility for Carers Allowance. DISGRACEFUL!!! Wed, Sep 22, 2010 12:52 PM
12. I think that if they use a points based system, then they will use a set of descriptors as they do for the WCA, and the problem will be trying to personalise it to accurately reflect the applicants problems, rather than "going down a checklist" , where they might not get any points. Sat, Sep 11, 2010 3:24 PM
13. The proposed new DLA test is a government plan to reduce benefits cost in general and ministers are not being honest when they mention this test. The new medical will cause stress and worry to many existing genuine claimants, which is likely to make many symptoms of illnesses such has in multiple sclerosis much worse. The test will be designed to save the government money and is very likely to reduce benefits to many disabled people and increase disability poverty Thu, Aug 26, 2010 9:39 PM
14. A cynical attempt to save money by taking it away from those most in need of it and least able to challenge this attack on disabled people. Fri, Aug 20, 2010 8:47 PM
15. If there must be a medical test, why not let GP's, (with their new responsibilities and money under this government), carry out the medical tests for DLA and ESA. Surely they know their patients and their needs best. Also the medicals would be more convenient and accessible to the applicants and a lot less stressful. Sat, Jul 24, 2010 10:32 PM
16. It's a witch-hunt designed to scare disabled people and lower their levels of DLA or remove it completely. It will be done with the help of charities, who will be paid handsomely by the government to sell out disabled people and their carers. Sat, Jul 24, 2010 9:49 PM
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It is impossible to calculate the suffering that will be subjected to claimants, they have been stigmatised as workshy slackers, it has been burned into the conciousness of the general public that these people are social lepers.
Most of them have been given medical assesments over time and their needs adjusted to it.
Now sweeping new criteria arrive such as can you scratch behind your kneck? Or similar tasks that are trivial and meaningless towards being disabled.
Take the young man badly crippled for life in a car accident, unable to walk without crutches and then not very far, brain damage and partialy sighted in one eye, put to work on an Asda checkout, his crutches taken away, unable to stand or go for a toilet break, was disciplined severly by undermanager for not standing up to pack irate womans shopping then wetting himself.
Other examples are many, as many will regress into themselves or contemplare suicide, for a Government that cares not at all for people who require help in todays society, just keeping Britains AAA+ international credit rating