An article examined the government's Green Paper on welfare reform. Rather than empowering disabled people to work, the proposals were likely to have a limited impact – due to weaknesses in the assumptions made regarding the reasons why people claimed incapacity benefit; and regarding the relationships between disability, paid work, and family structure.
Source: Chris Grover and Linda Piggott, 'Social security, employment and incapacity benefit: critical reflections on "A New Deal For Welfare"', Disability & Society, Volume 22 Number 7
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Dec
A think-tank report said that carer's allowance should be abolished. The complexity of the allowance made it difficult to claim, and the system needed to be much more flexible in order to provide the right support and help to people who combined care and paid work. The allowance should be replaced by a single benefit for all people who were out of work – replacing not only carer's allowance but also income support, jobseeker's allowance, and employment and support allowance (the benefit due to replace incapacity benefit).
Source: Sophie Moullin, Care in a New Welfare Society: Unpaid care, welfare and employment, Institute for Public Policy Research (020 7470 6100)
Links: Report | IPPR press release | Counsel and Care press release | Carers UK press release | BBC report
Date: 2007-Dec
An article examined the extent to which the government's aspiration to reduce the number of incapacity benefit claimants by one million within 10 years was deliverable. Without an accelerated revival in the economies of the North, Scotland and Wales, Labour looked set to fall short of the target.
Source: Steve Fothergill and Ian Wilson, 'A million off incapacity benefit: how achievable is Labour's target?', Cambridge Journal of Economics, Volume 31 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Nov
A report called for the benefits system to be reformed so that when people reached pension age they still had access to carer's allowance. The government should increase the carer's allowance to equal the national minimum wage, and increase the carer's premium in income support or pension credit.
Source: Caroline Bernard, A New Strategy for Carers: Better support for families and carers of older people, Counsel and Care (020 7241 8555)
Links: Report | Counsel and Care press release | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Oct
An article examined patterns of receipt of, and issues of access to, disability living allowance across four ethnic groups. DLA receipt among individuals reporting long-term health conditions was low: but Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Black African individuals had significantly lower levels of receipt than white British respondents with comparable health and socio-economic characteristics.
Source: Sarah Salway, Lucinda Platt, Kaveri Harriss and and Punita Chowbey, 'Long-term health conditions and disability living allowance: exploring ethnic differences and similarities in access', Sociology of Health & Illness, Volume 29 Issue 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Oct
A report examined the 'stock' of incapacity benefit claimants in Glasgow and the rest of Scotland, and the 'on' and 'off' flow. Glasgow had a particular problem in terms of the absolute size of its IB claimant population (61,850 in 2005), and the fact that this population represented such a high proportion of the working-age population (16.4 per cent in 2005).
Source: Judith Brown et al., Turning the Tap Off! Incapacity benefit in Glasgow and Scotland – Trends over the past five years, Glasgow Centre for Population Health (0141 221 9439)
Links: Report | Appendices | Briefing paper
Date: 2007-Aug
The Concessionary Bus Travel Bill was given a third reading. The Bill was designed to provide free off-peak local bus travel for pensioners and disabled people.
Source: Concessionary Bus Travel Bill [HL], Department for Transport, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 28 June 2007, columns 510-564, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard
Date: 2007-Jul
A report examined the experiences of Disability and Carers? Service customers. Customers found claim forms to be lengthy and confusing. Once an application had been made, customers often did not know whether or not they would receive the award. The disability claims process was dramatically eased with the intervention of a professional adviser.
Source: Janine Hawkins, Carol Goldstone and Meena Bhagat, Knowing and Understanding Disability and Carers Service Customers, Research Report 439, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Date: 2007-Jul
Researchers examined the feasibility of estimating the take-up rate of disability living allowance and attendance allowance.
Source: Diana Kasparova, Alan Marsh and David Wilkinson, The Take-up Rate of Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance: Feasibility study, Research Report 442, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Date: 2007-Jul
A Member of Parliament introduced a Bill designed to introduce a single assessment system for disability benefits; and to thereby prevent unnecessary repetition, frustration, and wasted resources.
Source: Disability Benefits (Single Assessment) Bill, Jeremy Hunt MP, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | EDCM press release
Date: 2007-Jun
The government began consultation on a review of the industrial injuries disablement benefit scheme (which since 1948 had provided compensation and benefits for people who were injured or made ill through work).
Source: Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit Scheme: A consultation paper, Department for Work and Pensions (020 7962 8176)
Links: Consultation document | DWP press release | Personnel Today report
Date: 2007-Jan
A report said that VAT law should be amended to introduce a reduced rate on goods used exclusively by disabled people, whether or not they were designed solely for this purpose. VAT reliefs should also be available equally to people with mental disabilities. There was a need for better administration of the reliefs to make them easier to obtain.
Source: VAT and Disabled People: The case for removing the barriers, Low Incomes Tax Reform Group/Chartered Institute of Taxation (020 7245 4122)
Links: Report | LITRG press release
Date: 2007-Jan