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![]() Monday, December 15, 1997 Published at 18:33 GMT ![]() ![]() ![]() UK ![]() Disability benefits cuts 'not ruled out' ![]() Government spending on disability benefits has soared
The Secretary of State for Social Security, Harriet Harman, has refused to rule out benefits cuts for the sick and disabled as part of the British Government's ongoing plan to reform the Welfare State.
"Labour has always stood up for the interests of people with disability," she said. "We are having a comprehensive review to modernise the Welfare State and those traditional concerns will remain at the heart of our agenda."
The spiralling increase in sickness and disability payments over the past 15 years gives force to widespread fears that major savings have to be made.
Benefit spending has soared
Government spending on sickness and disability benefits has grown from £4.1bn
in 1982 to £23.5b this year and it now accounts for a quarter of all benefit expenditure.
The Department of Social Security attributes the increase in payments to the
ageing population and a gradual growth in the extent of provision.
The two most expensive benefits, the Disability Living Allowance, which
currently costs the taxpayer £4.4 billion, and the Incapacity Benefit, costing
£7.8 billion, have been highlighted by those campaigning against cuts as
particularly vulnerable.
The Disability Living Allowance is a tax-free, non-means tested benefit introduced in April 1992. It helps people with care and mobility needs arising from illness or disability to pay for carers and transport costs.
The new benefit replaced the Mobility Allowance and Attendance Allowance
Incapacity Benefit was introduced in April 1995 when it replaced the more
generous Invalidity Allowance.
The Conservatives, who were also keen to cut costs in this area, brought in
the All Work Test at the same time. Previously, anyone applying for Invalidity
Allowance needed a note from their GP saying they were unfit for work.
Under
they new test, an individual's capacity for work is assessed by independent
medical staff.
The Department of Social Security commented that panic about proposed cuts was premature.
"All of this is being considered as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review
which started last June and is expected to take about a year," a spokesman
said.
"So if any cuts were proposed they wouldn't be discussed until next year.
It's far too early to start speculating what they might be. If any legislation
does emerge from the review it won't be in place at least until the end of
1998."
The changes to lone parent benefits, sealed by a Commons vote last week, will
save the Government £395m over three years.
Ministers believe that the highest loss of income for a lone parent will be £10.25 a week under the new scheme, while the average will be around £5.
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