RNIB DLA Campaign

NEWS RELEASE

From the Office of

 Rt Hon ELLIOT MORLEY MP

  London Office 0207 219 3569

  Constituency 01724 842000

Email morleye@parliament.uk

Blind people liberated as discrimination comes to an end

Successful campaign with Scunthorpe MP ends years of injustice

After a two and a half year campaign to change unfair benefit rules that have discriminated against blind people Scunthorpe MP, Elliot Morley, welcomed the Government’s acceptance of an amendment to the Welfare Reform Bill that will end years of discrimination and change the rules for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to entitle people with severe visual impairment to claim the higher rate mobility component of DLA.

The Government decision amends legislation from 1992 and will allow around 26,000 people in the UK with severe visual impairment to receive an extra £29 per week in the mobility component of DLA, allowing them to get out and about safely and independently.

Mr Morley said, ‘The Government have righted a longstanding wrong giving the liberty to blind people that many of us can take for granted and the mobility component will now finally live up to its name.’

I’m appalled the Conservatives withheld their support for this, while proposing money for inheritance tax cuts for billionaires. It is a clear message of their priorities for the country if they ever get back into power.

This is wonderful news for thousands of blind people across the country, and those local visually impaired people who contacted me locally,which from 2011 will give them essential extra money to travel in their local areas, access job opportunities, leisure and culture venues and visit friends and family.

Despite facing some of the most insurmountable barriers to mobility blind people were denied the support they needed to get around – it must have been an unintended consequence of a previous Act and the correction of this is extremely welcome for blind people across the country. This ends a groundless discrimination which never made sense and the passion in Parliament running through the debate showed the strength of feeling on this, which reflected the sense of injustice felt by blind people across the country who lobbied their members. A difference of £29 a week, or over £1,500 a year will mean a significant change to their quality of life, their access to services and their ability to be involved in society.

These are tough times for the whole country and there are many, many pressures on Government budgets – I know that we would not have secured this change and the extra support for blind people under any other party. This is exactly what a Labour Government is for.

RNIB have told me about one of their members who is blind and needs to rely on someone, who is physically unable to walk, to give them a lift in their car. Although she needs to rely on this friend who could drive a car because of her blindness, she receives less support than them to get around. This has been a real paradox which has finally been brought to an end.’

In terms of social exclusion, access to essential public services and quality of life, the extra money that blind people will receive for mobility will mean a huge difference. It will also open new doors to them: previously a blind person would find not only find it difficult to access a workplace, but would often be unable to get to an interview in the first place and 70% of blind people are unemployed as a result of this. This has been costed at around £47m a year which is a drop in the ocean in today’s terms and the widespread support for this – by no means restricted to blind community – shows there is no doubt that correcting this injustice is completely worth it.’

Mr Morley said, ‘This amendment will make a real difference to 26,000 blind people in the UK. It’s things like this that a Labour Government is for. The Conservatives would not give their support to this amendment claiming that they couldn’t find the money until they were in Government. But they’re finding the money to give tax cuts to billionaires on inheritance tax and it is hard to believe where their priorities lie; this is a warning if they ever get back into power. I find it difficult to understand how the Conservatives’ stance on this, while Parliament was united in its support. The resounding message from this campaign is that in the global financial crisis there are many claims for Government money but helping the disadvantaged is as important as it has ever been.’

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