Here's where we are at the end of the House of Lords debates over the Welfare Reform Bill.
Amendment 1: Setting Lower Rate DLA for children at no less than 2/3rds the rate for Higher Rate claimants.
Amendment 12: Protecting housing benefit for social tenants deemed to have un-needed spare rooms
Amendment 36a: Protecting young disabled people's eligibility for contributory Employment Support Allowance (ESA)
Amendment 38: Raising to 24 months the proposed 12-month limit on claiming contributory ESA.
Amendment 38a: Exempting cancer patients from the contributory ESA limits
Amendment 59: Excluding child benefit from the £26,000 household benefit cap.
Amendment 62c: Dropping the proposal to charge single parents for using the Child Support Agency.
Tomorrow is the day that Ian Duncan Smith is threatening to push through the Welfare Reform Bill without the above amendments - fought hard for by charities, campaigners, the House of Lords and all of us - these amendments might help save homes and keep people with disabilities and children just that bit further away from poverty.
I think a lot of us would rather see the whole bill chucked out - even with the amendments there are going to be some very vulnerable people stuck in extremely tough situations, but if the amendments are all we can have let the House of Commons know they must take them.
What can we do now?
It's too late for letter writing, but it's a good moment to get on Twitter! You can see the list of Labour MPs on Twitter, Liberal Democrats on Twitter as well as Other parties on Twitter and if you're feeling optimistic (remember a few Conservative Lord's have rebelled already, particularly around the CSA changes) Conservatives on Twitter
You can use the hashtags #wrb #frothers and for disability news #spartacusreport
The point of it all appears to be to turn the UK into a happy hunting ground for the Unum insurance company, financial backers of the Tories. With no welfare state in evidence everyone will need multiple insurance policies. We'll be milked for all we're worth and if Unum's history in America is anything to go by then they won't have any interest in paying out on perfectly genuine claims. You won't be suing them either till the shirt's gone from your back as laws are being changed to stop that too. If you do win you'll still have to pay your own fees out of any winnings.
ReplyDeleteKeep signing Pat's Petition as well please!
ReplyDeleteThere are over 29k signatures now which is great because it reminds them we're here. But to push the government to look at it, it needs 100k - huge numbers! but we can do it - if each signatory asked 4 more, we'd smash it. If every disabled person in the UK signed it today, it'd be done in a flash.
We know many people haven't got access to online - so everyone online who can help getting numbers of signatories, please do it. This is urgent - let's show the Lords we're here!
Link to petition here http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/20968
and link to more information here http://carerwatch.com/reform/?p=613
Thank you