Care Bill [HL]

Debate between Lord Wigley and Baroness Wilkins

Monday 22nd July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wigley]

I would like to put on record my support for the points made by the noble Baroness, Lady Campbell, and those just made by the noble Lord, Lord Low. I wish to speak to the two amendments in my name in this group; Amendments 92ZZAG and 107. These are probing amendments to try to get something on the record with regard to the way in which care issues covered by the Bill and which have cross-border implications between Wales and England will be handled in the future.

Although Clause 112 says that the Bill extends to England and Wales, the Bill is ostensibly to do with care provision in England only, which is why I have exercised a self-denying ordinance and not imposed my opinions on the House or the Committee in recent weeks—other than at Second Reading when I flagged up these matters, which I wish to pursue today.

There are two distinct issues although they can in some circumstances be linked. The first relates to the people who move between Wales and England and England and Wales and how differing care regimes in the respective countries will affect their entitlements. I am talking about people who move voluntarily and not those who may be placed by local authorities or a health authority. The second relates to the funds associated with this Bill and how they impact on the two respective countries, and to that extent the Bill certainly has implications for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

I first remind the Committee that the social care dimension is a wholly devolved subject, and the policy in Wales may be totally different from that in England. The National Assembly is now considering draft legislation which no doubt will lead in coming months to the evolution of a new statute in Wales. The Welsh Government have a commitment to a new system that is fair, affordable and sustainable within a Welsh context. The legislation being considered in Wales is likely to increase the number of services where people can claim a direct payment from local councils; introduce national eligibility criteria that may be different from those in England; create portable assessments within Wales that do not extend to England as I understand it, and establish a national adoption service and allow council officers greater powers in helping those suspected of being at risk.

In Wales there is a substantially greater proportion of older people—greater than any other country or region in the UK. I also maintain in that context that the GVA levels in Wales are in some areas 40% below the average levels of the UK. The financial profile against which any new policy is set will inevitably be different between Wales and England. They will also have to allow for the fact that disability levels are significantly higher in Wales. Wales has already set a cap of £50 a week on charges for home care. The Welsh Government have, wisely to my mind, waited to see the sums involved in England before deciding on the best policy for paying for care in Wales.

There has been pressure on the Welsh Government from Age Cymru and others pressing for a lower cap in Wales than in England and there has been talk of caps of £23,000 and £35,000, which is the figure recommended by Dilnot. There are serious questions about how the Care Bill in England may affect Wales and vice versa, both in terms of whether there is any full Barnett consequential accruing to Wales from the £1 billion cost of the package in England, and with regard to the entitlement of people who have moved informally—not by placement but informally—between the two countries. For example, what is the portability of assessments of need made in Wales for people who move to England and vice versa—not cross-border placements but those who move voluntarily?

To put it simply, what is the position of Mrs Jones who lives in Prestatyn and goes into residential care in Prestatyn? At the behest of her daughter who lives in Chester she moves to a residential home over the border to be closer to her grandchildren. Will the cap operational in Wales or in England be applicable? Likewise, what if Mrs Smith experiences exactly the same problem in the converse direction? Who will explain the situation and the implications of the situation to both Mrs Jones and Mrs Smith before they decide to move?

Incidentally, the definition of “ordinarily resident” in Clause 38(1) seems to be inadequate to deal with the situation of someone who may move from supported accommodation in one country to another as the location at which she or he lived prior to coming into supported accommodation might be totally irrelevant—for example, if they lived for a period with their daughter in, say, Dublin, Brussels or the Isle of Man.

There is then a question about the duty of the health research authorities covered by Clause 98 of co-operation between England and Wales. Clearly the duty of co-operation needs to be considered, not only in the context of the health authorities but in the general context of these amendments, but who will enforce that duty? What will be the fundamental long stop to ensure that Mrs Jones and Mrs Smith are not caught in the crossfire between the policies of two Governments?

I do not know whether any of the government amendments in this group have an implication for the question I am raising but I would be grateful if the Minister can address these issues so that between now and Report I can discuss them with colleagues in Cardiff to ensure that when the final legislation goes on to the statute book everyone will know exactly where they stand.

[Baroness Wilkins]

My Lords, I strongly support the amendments of the noble Baroness, Lady Campbell, and the noble Lord, Lord Low. The noble Baroness has been very keen in pursuing these issues for the past five years and her tenacity has been outstanding. I am sure we all recognise that. She has argued comprehensively and excellently for these amendments. We all know that there is huge stress in moving home and, if you are a person in need of care, that stress is beyond words. As the noble Baroness said, it is a monumental risk. I hope that the Committee will wholeheartedly support these amendments.

Social Security (Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance and Carer’s Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations 2013

Debate between Lord Wigley and Baroness Wilkins

Monday 24th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wigley]

My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this debate and to congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Alton, on bringing it forward. I should declare an interest as president of Mencap in Wales and a number of other disability organisations. The matter that we are discussing is of immense concern to countless thousands of disabled people who are dependent on the vehicles they get for their mobility. This is true generally; it is a particular problem in rural areas, to which I will come in a moment. Perhaps I might pick up the points as they have been made in turn.

First, on consultation, may we please have an assurance from the Minister that all relevant disability organisations will have a full opportunity not just to submit evidence but to engage in meaningful two-way discussion on this matter, and that the process will not be truncated and time-limited?

Secondly, on the more than 600,000 Motability vehicles, the Government must know how many people stand to lose their adapted vehicles, so why will they not come clean with the statistics? As the noble and learned Lord, Lord Hardie, mentioned a moment ago, they must know those statistics. I congratulate him on the Questions that he has tabled and the statistics that he has obtained, which bring this matter into sharp focus.

Thirdly, I draw the attention of this House to the disproportionate geographical impact. I obviously have concern with Wales. With 5% of the population, it has 7.4% of the total casework and 8.4% of the higher rate caseload. This is for an amalgam of historic industrial reasons, which we will not go into now. Those people stand to lose, and many are in areas with the lowest incomes per head in these islands—places such as Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil, where I used to live, and where almost 13% of the population have a dependency on the mobility component. In my next-door area of Anglesey, which has one of the lowest GVAs per head of anywhere in the United Kingdom, at just 55% of the UK average, there is a caseload of 7.2%. That is in a rural area where they do not have alternative means of transport and taking away vehicles will deprive disabled people of the ability to get around.

The changes we are talking about will compound the disability and poverty suffered by these people. It will be made infinitely worse if they cannot have their mobility. They will be very badly impacted by these changes.

[Baroness Wilkins]

My Lords, I declare a tangential interest as a recipient of DLA since its inception, although being no longer of working age I am unaffected by the introduction of PIP. I will not repeat many of the excellent points that other noble Lords have made.

In a recent document, Motability set out the ways in which it is trying to ameliorate the changes and lessen the punitive impact of reclaiming customers’ vehicles. It states that the price to individual customers wishing to buy their current car will be in the order of £8,000 to £12,000. In the current climate, when disabled people have been repeatedly hit by cuts, how will many be able to afford that kind of outlay? Will the loan sharks be out in force to make yet another killing from people desperate not to lose their employment?

The Minister for Disabled People’s answer to those people facing the loss of their employment because of the introduction of PIP has been the Access to Work scheme. What work has been done to see if this could in fact be a more expensive alternative? For example, the chief executive of my local disability organisation needed to use Access to Work while he could not drive a car. The daily cost of the journey both ways was £80—£400 per week. On top of that, he has the cost of taxis for shopping, getting to the doctor, et cetera. Compare that to £55.25 high-rate mobility element of DLA, which provides him with a transport for all these activities.

Welfare Reform Bill

Debate between Lord Wigley and Baroness Wilkins

Tuesday 14th February 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wigley]

My Lords, as the Minister will know, I have a considerable interest in this matter. We have debated it long and hard over recent weeks. I would like to take up the points made by the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, about the substantial effect that these changes could have on those who are in dire poverty. I would like to add a dimension to that: the position of those who may be in circumstances of uncertainty. The uncertainty regarding the benefit that may be available to help disabled children may in fact compound the difficulties faced by those families.

In those circumstances, I would like to press the Minister—while recognising the efforts that he has undoubtedly made to try to meet us on some of these points, despite the constraints of finance—on whether he can give any indication of the likely timing and mechanisms of these changes taking place. He referred to the fact that it will be 2015 before all the associated changes are in place. I am not sure whether to interpret that as an indication that the timescale may be so long that it will be 2016 before the changes are implemented. If I am wrong about that, what is the purpose of his flagging up the facts that we will know in 2015? If I am right about the implication of his statement being that there will be a delay until 2015 or, more likely, 2016 before the impact of these changes is felt, it would certainly give people time to start making adjustments, and the Government and this Chamber time for further consideration. If that is the intention, what would be the mechanism in 2015 or thereabouts to implement the changes that the Minister has in mind? If the mechanism is to be by order—that is, unamendable—that always causes misgivings in this place and other places. If it were possible at that stage to have a more general debate before an order was brought forward, it would give us an opportunity to pursue these matters in detail in light of what happens between now and then. I do not know whether these suggestions are in line with what the Minister indicated or whether I misunderstood what he said. However, I would be grateful if he could address these points when he responds.

[Baroness Wilkins]

My Lords, it was shocking that the other place left so little time for the important amendment concerning the disability addition for children. It received scant debate. I strongly support the current amendment for the reasons that I gave at Third Reading, and trust that the Minister now understands the damage that the Bill will do to disabled children unless action is taken.

Welfare Reform Bill

Debate between Lord Wigley and Baroness Wilkins

Thursday 3rd November 2011 Grand Committee

[Lord Wigley]

My Lords, I am very pleased to support this amendment. One is very aware of the tremendous work that the noble Countess, Lady Mar, has undertaken in this area and of her expertise. There is no doubt that the fluctuating condition of many people with disabilities can be a difficult factor from whichever end you look at it: from the point of view of the disabled person, who may want to work but is uncertain whether they can carry out the work, or from the point of view of the state and the way in which these regulations apply to such people.

The one element in this amendment that I am not entirely certain about is the question of “unsupported employment”. There are times when, if a disabled person is given adequate support, they can be in full-time meaningful work on a continuous basis. I would not want this amendment to undermine that dimension, which is very important.

Turning to new subsection (6B) proposed by the amendment, can the Minister comment on paragraph (b), which refers to work,

“which exists in the United Kingdom”?

This raises some interesting questions. Is it in the Government’s mind that there might be work outside the United Kingdom, the availability of which could, if it were not taken up, lead to people being debarred from their benefits? One thinks of people living in Dover: an hour’s journey puts them into the French catchment area. If one lives in Holyhead, if the fast boats are running one could quickly be in Dublin—presuming that there is any work in Dublin these days. The Government’s intention in this matter certainly needs to be probed. If paragraph (b) is necessary, I would be interested to know what the Government’s explanation is.

[Baroness Wilkins]

My Lords, I strongly support this amendment in the hope that it will go some way to meeting the fears of the thousands of disabled people facing their work capacity assessment, especially those who have a fluctuating condition such as multiple sclerosis or an ill understood condition such as ME. Members of the Committee will have been inundated with letters from people who have been given every reason to mistrust the assessment process as carried out by Atos, and I know that the Minister has been made very aware of the stress and anxiety this is causing.

Broadly, this amendment sets out that, in order to be deemed capable of work, the claimant should be able to work for at least 16 hours each week in meaningful work that pays the national minimum wage or above and, most importantly, that they can reliably perform their work on a sustainable basis of at least 26 weeks without requiring excessive leave or absences. This would do much to rectify the current situation. What happens now is that at the end of an Atos report on a claimant, which goes to DWP decision-makers following the completion of the work capability assessment, there is usually a prognosis which says, “This claimant should be able to return to work within x months”. However, the WCA is not currently designed to offer any concrete evidence of a person’s realistic capability to find employment. The content of the WCA is designed purely to assess a person’s physical and mental functionality, not their ability to find employment, how long this may take or what support an individual may need to do so in the light of the barriers to work that their condition presents.

The WCA test focuses largely on a claimant’s typical day. Yet there is no such thing as a typical day for someone with a fluctuating condition. For example, a woman with MS in her early 30s told the MS Society that on one day she may feel well enough to participate in voluntary work and have a busy and active lifestyle, yet during a recent lapse she was rendered completely blind for a period of weeks and found that on many days she was unable to get out of bed due to disabling fatigue.

The typical-day history taken in the WCA refers to a typical day out of work. However, a typical day out of work for someone with a long-term condition could be very different from a typical day if they had to travel and complete a full day’s work. One person with multiple sclerosis told the society, “Nothing done in the interview related to my ability or my lack of ability to work. I answered the questions as honestly as I was able, but was not able to stress the fluctuating nature of the symptoms, i.e. yes, I can read, but not for more than a few minutes and then I have to rest”. Another person said, “They have no idea what day with MS is like. They do not know how work would go if one day you can walk but the next you cannot, if one day you pee yourself continually and the next you are okay. Who would employ me? I am constantly fatigued, yet of course the WCA found me fit for work.”

I do not doubt the Minister’s sincerity when he says that his whole motivation is to support and enable people to take their place in the world of work, but how can he hope for this to succeed when the assessment for determining eligibility for universal credit is based on such a flawed, unjust and mistrusted system? As we have heard too many times, 40 per cent of those wrongly found fit for work win on appeal of the decision, and in some areas I am told that the figure increases to 90 per cent if people are represented at tribunal.