Government fails its own fairness test: Sense supports RNIB report
28 January 2011
Key messages in the government’s flagship Welfare Reform Bill represent a major assault on the incomes and independence of working age blind, partially sighted and other disabled people.
This is the main conclusion of More Than Meets the Eye, a report published today by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) that Sense, along with other UK sight loss charities, supports. The report calls on the government to work with sight loss charities to fulfil its promise of creating a fair welfare system.
Despite the promise of £2 billion extra for adult social care in last year’s Comprehensive Spending Review, RNIB’s report says many blind or partially sighted people are deemed to have ‘low’ or ‘moderate’ needs so often struggle to access local authority care services.
What the Welfare Reform Bill means for deafblind people
The main issue for deafblind people in the Welfare Reform Bill is the decision to abolish the automatic entitlement to Disability Living Allowance (DLA) mobility component for deafblind people.
Sue Brown, Head of Public Policy at Sense, says:
“Sense is deeply concerned the Government’s decision to get rid of the automatic entitlement to DLA mobility component for deafblind people will leave many out in the cold and the needless bureaucracy will create confusion and cost the tax payer more.
The government’s short sighted focus on disabled people with solely higher needs means preventative support will be slashed. This financially irrational approach is not sustainable and will cut many deafblind people off from society.”