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Incapacity Benefit to be replaced in shake-up: reports

Paul Carter

ParliamentIncapacity Benefit and Housing Benefit are to be scrapped and merged into a single ‘universal credit’ as part of a £9bn reform of the welfare system, according to reports.

The Times reports that the secretary of state for work and pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, and the chancellor, George Osborne, have finally reached an agreement over the costing of the plan, which, it is claimed, will ensure that nobody will be better off out of work.

The proposals are said to include measures that allow people to retain more of their benefits for longer when moving back into employment, or increasing their working hours.

It is believed that the new benefit will take three years to introduce, and that any initial costs will be funded by cost savings.

Richard Hawkes, chief executive of the disability charity Scope, said that such reports, without further detail from government, risked creating greater uncertainty for disabled people.

“Disabled people and their families are already incredibly anxious about what these changes to welfare reform will mean for them and these reports, genuine or not, are just making people more fearful," he said.

“Despite all these rumours the government still has not taken the time to find out exactly how these reforms will impact on the lives of disabled people. If they persist down this path, we believe disabled people could be pushed even further into poverty and ultimately an even greater dependency on the state.”

According to The Times, an announcement will be made during the forthcoming Conservative Party conference, although the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) refused to confirm whether any confirmation would be forthcoming before the publishing of the findings of the Comprehensive Spending Review next month.

A spokesman for the DWP said: "We are working closely with the Treasury and any decisions will be made in the context of the Spending Review. We are all agreed on the urgent need to reform the welfare system and help more people into work and off benefits."

being worse of on benifits

Posted by vivienne gouldthorpe at 03 Oct 10 22:35
with regards to what he has said so because my husband took serousily ill thru no fault of own we going to suffer more and as his full time carer at 53quid aweek which is taxable we going to end up even shorter od money to live on he also has tons of med reports to say he carnt be left alone at all yet we only get 14 hours a week help and i am not good my self so instead of cuting why dont the gov think about paying us as carer proper min wage as for the min 53quid aweek which is supose to cover 40 hours pay us a proper wage as i have to look after him 24/7 7 days and nights a week i only get break wen other carer here would they work for that yes they r our love ones and we would do it all for them but surly we hav a right to live on min wage as well even if we was paid min wage for 40 hours a week it would still cost the gov a hell of a lot less then what they have to put aside for the private carer i could go on for ever but tiered now so i will leave it at this

carers payment

Posted by ANN KELLY at 20 Oct 10 17:44
I personally feel that the paltry amount paid to carers, should have been in their agenda today.
Instead of making ill people worse they should take the time to think about the money the carers of this country save the government every single week of the year.

Sorry but the coalition duo do nothing for me.

Carers

Posted by Jennifer Hynes at 27 Oct 10 09:20
Absolutely. Carers Allowance is derisory and an insult to those who spend their lives (often their entire lives) caring for others. I'm a full-time carer and disabled myself and at the moment we get along fine, but once these cuts bite, I doubt we will be able to run the (Motability funded) car, which we rely on due to living in a rural area. Once the local council cuts bus services we will be in real trouble, although the local buses are NOT suitable for wheelchair users, so once of us will have our independence ruined.

This country has regressed since May, big time, and I am concerned, no scared, about the coming return of the Victorian age.

re disablity

Posted by michael pat at 09 Oct 10 18:53
I WOULD LIKE TO ARSK IF A DISABLED PERSON AS BEEN PUSHED INTO WORK BY THE GOVERMENT AND HAS A ACCIDENT CAUSED BY THERE DISABILTY WHO WOULD PAY ! THE REASON I HAVE MENTIONED IT IS PEOPLE THAT HAVE NO DISABILTY ARE INSURED BY THE PEOPLE WHO THEY WORK FOR,IF A ACCIDENT HAPPENS IT THEN GETS SORTED OUT PROPERLY,BUT IF YOU ALL READY HAVE A DISABILTY DO YOU GET BLAMED BECAUSE YOU ARE DISABLED !