Government to reverse its plan to cut DLA mobility component
The VODG welcomes today’s news that the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is unlikely to be scrapped, a decision that strikes a blow for thousands of campaigners who argued against the government plan.
According The Times today (29 Nov), the government will not go ahead with plans to cut the mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which is replacing DLA, from people in residential care. As Mencap announced on its website, news that the government has reversed its plan to scrap this vital benefit is imminent. The allowance helps to meet the costs of transport or of mobility aids.
As the VODG recently argued in a recent blogpost, the mobility component “makes the difference between existing and having a life that’s worth living”. The recent Low Review highlighted how the cut would impact on 78,000 disabled people, whose mobility needs would not otherwise have been met.
While welcoming the imminent move, VODG general secretary sounded a note of caution: “The major concern now is the impact of the other benefit changes on disabled people, something that is actually a much bigger issue than the DLA mobility component.”
Clare Pelham, chief executive of VODG member Leonard Cheshire Disability, has said the allowance “can make the difference between being able to get out independently, and being trapped inside”.
Mark Goldring, VODG member Mencap’s chief executive, has added: “This is a positive example of the government listening to disabled people, who have been among the hardest hit by national and local authority budget cuts.
