AMBER RUDD MP

Member of Parliament for Hastings & Rye

HOUSE OF COMMONS
LONDON S\71A
Ms Jessica Steele 64 St Helens Park Road Hastings East Sussex TN34 2JJ
OAA

Our ref: AR/LS/3018

12 January 2012

Dear Jess,

Thank you for your email of 9 January about the reform of Disability Living Allowance and the 'Spartacus/Responsible Reform' report.

I very much believe that the Government should support the most vulnerable in our society
and help disabled people lead dignified and fulfilling lives.

However, I think it should be acknowledged that Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is an outdated benefit that has not been reformed since its introduction. The vast majority of people receive this benefit for life, without any checks to see if their condition has improved or worsened.

As a result of this, hundreds of millions of pounds have been overpaid, while other people have not been getting the support they need. This is why the Government is replacing DLA with the Personal lndependence Payment and introducing a new faceto-face assessment and
regular reviews, to make sure support is going to those who need it most.

With regard to the points raised about the Government's consultation, I can tell you that the Depadment for Work & Pensions received over 5,500 responses to the DLA consultation from both organisations and individuals. The'Spartacus/Responsible Reform' report looked at a sample of 500 responses from organisations only. ln light of this fact, the figures that have been quoted do not match up to the figures that were generated by the consultations itself.

I can assure you that the Government continues to work closely with disabled people and disability organisations on the introduction of the Personal lndependence Payment and consults them on a range of issues. lndeed as a result of their representations, the
Government made significant changes to the assessment criteria and announced that it would not remove DLA from people living in care homes. I hope this letter clarifies this situation and thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Kind regards,

Yours sincerely,

Amber Rudd

Westminster Tel: 020 7219

7229

Email: amber.mdd.mp@parliament.uk Constituency Tel 01424 205 435