Comprehensive Spending Review leaves Disabled people reeling.
Transport for All
With a raft of cuts to welfare benefits announced last week...
With a raft of cuts to welfare benefits announced last week, disabled and older people are set to bare the brunt of the drive by the Government to make savings.
Amongst the cuts announced include:
- Time limiting contributory Employment Support Allowance for some disabled people to one year.
- Removing the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance for people in residential care.
- Capping household benefit payments from 2013.
- Pension age to rise to 66 for both men and women by 2018.
The removal of the mobility component of DLA for people in residential care is a great concern – and could essentially mean making thousands of elderly disabled people housebound. The rationale behind this cut seems incomprehensible and will effect an already vulnerable group of people in our society.
Transport for London’s overall grant funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) is to be cut by £2.17bn over four years, or 21 per cent in real terms in 2014/15. However, as DfT funding is around one third of TfL’s total funding, this represents less than eight per cent of TfL’s planned expenditure on capital investment (excluding Crossrail) and frontline services.
However with the budgets of Dial-a-Ride and Taxicard capped, it seems that any increase in investment in these services will not be happening anytime soon.
Furthermore, the CSR also announced a funding cut to local government of 28% – around 7% a year for for years.
This represents a major cut to the local authority funding and could very well mean that front line services that disabled and older people rely on are scaled back or cut all together.
With cuts to local voluntary sector groups also on the cards, our communities are in for a rough ride as we attempt to deal with the cuts and the impact they will have on lives.
Inclusion London have produced a response to the Comprehensive Spending Review and its impact on disabled people.
You can download the report here:
http://www.inclusionlondon.co.uk/?location_id=14&item=48
We would like to hear what you think of the CSR – please get in touch with us and let us know your views. Contactus@transportforall.org.uk