Queen’s Speech

Baroness Browning Excerpts

Monday 17th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Browning (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I too welcome the maiden speeches of the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, with whom I served in the House of Commons, and the noble Lord, Lord Morse—I served for many years on the Public Accounts Committee, and I am sure that his future contributions will be much valued in the House of Lords.

I will focus on community and welfare. Cohesive communities thrive when vulnerable minorities do not fall through the safety net. I welcome the Government’s support for rough sleepers. When Covid struck last year, we all felt a sense of relief when we saw how quickly rough sleepers were accommodated. It seems right to build on that now. I welcome the announcement of £203 million this year, including for 2,700 support staff.

Dealing with rough sleeping is not just about providing a much-needed roof. Support for mental health, addiction and all areas of life is needed to help get people off the streets. The Government are to be commended for their action, as well as for the initiative in the gracious Speech on drug addiction. In particular, I welcome the Government’s support for both treatment and recovery; this will not just stop at the distribution of methadone.

In his opening remarks, my noble friend briefly mentioned one or two benefits. I want to speak about disability benefits for those of working age—in particular, personal independence payment, or PIP, and employment and support allowance, or ESA. Next spring, Scotland plans to give disabled people more choice as to how they can apply for disability benefits. This will be by phone, email or online, and there will be support and more information about their entitlement. The assessment will involve people who are qualified and specialists in the disability they are assessing. I believe that the Government should do the same and not take time before doing it.

At present, we know that, of the people who apply for personal independence payment and are refused, more than 70% win on appeal. This is a formidable process which can take many months while appellants wait without any money. Not everyone can use a computer or use online. This is often said of older people, but it also applies to some younger people.

Coroners have also identified that the difficulty that some disabled people have had in applying for disability benefits has been so dire that it has contributed to their death. Some 82 deaths are recorded where the benefit has been terminated. It is no wonder that the charity Sense believes that 61% of disabled people feel that they are second-class citizens.

As a Member of Parliament for over 18 years, I was able to support people in need of disability benefits, but I too have struggled with some of the cases I have supported recently. Letters are sent with helpful telephone numbers and, when you ring them, it is just an automaton replying, always just directing you to the website. Nobody is there to give help—so how people with disabilities are expected to cope, I really do not know.

But these things are important and serious. Disability, however it occurs, can be a disease that degenerates. Mental health itself is not an exact science. Terminal illness should not be based on an arbitrary six months. Over nine months? Then the answer is no. The Government have the power to change this, like Scotland has, and I hope that they do.