Universal Credit (Exceptions to the Requirement not to be receiving Education) (Amendment) Regulations 2021

Lord Storey Excerpts

Monday 13th December 2021 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Storey]

That a Humble Address be presented to Her Majesty praying that the Universal Credit (Exceptions to the Requirement not to be receiving Education) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/1224), laid before the House on 4 November, be annulled because (1) they will remove vital support for disabled young people, and (2) Her Majesty’s Government have not sufficiently assessed the impact the regulations will have.

Relevant document: 21st Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee

[Lord Storey (LD)]

My Lords, disabled young people need all the support and help that our society can give them. Those disabled young people who have become students—who are learning and want to progress in education and who want to go to college and university—should not be facing barriers. They should not be facing checks and counterchecks, making it as difficult as possible for them to get the financial support that they need. It strikes me as strange that we hear from the Government so many times that there should be no barriers to learning or supporting young people, when these very young people have barrier after barrier against them.

Tomorrow, sadly, the new regulations come into being, and that will have dire consequences for disabled people in education, as they will be prevented from claiming crucial universal credit. The new regulations will prevent disabled people who are receiving education accessing a universal credit claim if they have not established what is called a “limited capacity for work” status before they started receiving education. This effectively means that many disabled people will be unable to receive universal credit if they are in education, which creates the risk that certain groups of young people will be unable to finish their education, limiting their employment opportunities in future.

Of course, this is not the first time that the Department for Work and Pensions has misinterpreted the needs of disabled people. Disability Rights UK stated that 30,000 disabled students could have been affected by the DWP’s misunderstanding of the law which prevented thousands of disabled students from claiming benefits essential for their cost of living in the past seven years. Testimony of numerous disabled students has described cases where education has been put beyond their reach.

In 2013, around 8.6% of higher education students were disabled, yet in an NUS survey from that year, 59% of disabled respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they had been worried about not having enough money to meet basic living expenses, compared to 47% of non-disabled respondents. Only 33% agreed or strongly agreed that they were able to concentrate on their studies without worrying about finances, compared to 45% of non-disabled students, and 55% have already seriously considered leaving their course, compared with 35% of non-disabled respondents. Among those, 54% reported that it was because of financial problems, 36% because of a health problem, and only 20% that it was because of a disability issue.

Although this data is from 2013, it shows important patterns in the difficulties that disabled students have faced in the past and continue to face today in financing their studies. The current proposed changes will only exacerbate obstacles faced by disabled students in accessing high-quality education, forcing certain disabled students to choose between staying in education, but without being able to access crucial resources in sustaining themselves, and dropping out altogether, which will create immeasurable strain on their current well-being as well as future prospects. Overall, cutting off access to universal credit for many disabled students who are currently in education would create additional obstacles and severely impede the Government’s objective of empowering and supporting disabled people across the UK.

Even before the regulations come into force tomorrow, the current rules make it difficult for disabled people in education to claim universal credit, and the new rules will restrict access even further. Students are caught in an impossible situation; they need a work capability assessment to get a “limited capacity for work” status, but the main way in which to access that assessment is by starting a claim for universal credit, and they need “limited capacity for work” status before they can get universal credit. It is not clear how refusing disabled people means-tested support through universal credit, because they do not have “limited capacity for work” status before receiving education, would support them in achieving their potential or starting, staying and succeeding in employment.

This is not an area of strength for me, and I have struggled to understand many of the issues—so God help those poor students who are trying to work their way through this. In reality, the regulations will force many young disabled people who cannot go without financial support from universal credit to drop out of education altogether. What the Government are doing is, frankly, appalling: disabled students already face so many barriers to engaging fully in education, and now the Government plan to callously rip away the additional support offered by universal credit. This truly is penny-pinching of the worst kind. As Child Poverty Action Group has warned, this change in the rules will close off the only route for young disabled learners, meaning that many could be forced out of education altogether. We need to support and empower everyone living with a disability to achieve their full potential, not pull the rug out from underneath them. I beg to move.

[Lord Shipley (LD)]

My Lords, during this year, I have been chairing the Youth Unemployment Committee. The day after the publication of our report Skills for Every Young Person a couple of weeks ago, I received some comments on the sections relating to disabled young adults concerning the impact of this statutory instrument on the report’s objectives. The context of our report was that, while there was a range of mechanisms in place to support young people with additional needs, the recent Plan for Jobs had no targeted support for people with disabilities. We said that, as part of their forthcoming consultation on strengthening pathways to employment for disabled people, the Government should consider grant funding for a jobs guarantee for unemployed disabled young people.

Meanwhile, quite separately, this statutory instrument has been tabled, and it is very worrying because it is not a minor change. The assessment for a limited capability for work determination now must be made before the young person becomes a student. Only then are they entitled to universal credit. That, as my noble friend Lord Storey has made clear, is a significant change. I hope that the Government will reflect on how this position has been reached, not least because this proposed change in benefit entitlement has not been subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

Those affected are, first, young disabled people aged 16 to 19 and those with long-term health conditions who previously would have been able to claim universal credit in their own right. Secondly, it affects those young disabled people or those with long-term health conditions who are in advanced education: typically 18 to 23 year-olds attending university. Thirdly, it affects those who continue in non-advanced education but who cannot qualify for help because of their age. There has been no published impact assessment, but because individual circumstances can be complex, there might be a wide variety of impacts that should have been properly analysed and still should be, and the information shared. I regret very much that this has not been done. As my noble friend Lord Storey said, young disabled people face multiple barriers, and these regulations should not be adding to them.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

My Lords, I thank noble Lords for their contributions to this debate. The noble Baroness, Lady Janke, mentioned scrutiny and I will just deal with that quickly. These regulations were subject to scrutiny by the Social Security Advisory Committee on 15 October this year.

In closing, I assure all noble Lords that the Government are absolutely committed to supporting disabled people and are determined that support should be focused on people who need it most. These new regulations do not reduce the existing support, which is correctly available to disabled students, but rather ensure that this support continues to come from the appropriate source of government funding, which for disabled students, as for all students, is the student support system of loans and grants.

These new regulations do not remove entitlement to universal credit from any existing disabled student currently receiving it, nor from any future claim to universal credit from a person entitled to a qualifying disability benefit, such as PIP, who is subsequently determined to have a limited capability for work and wishes to start a course of education.

I should mention that the Government’s support for disabled students does not end on them completing their education. In our national disability strategy, we have committed to improving disabled people’s everyday lives. We have committed to make available the access to work adjustments passport for all disabled students, including those receiving disabled students’ allowance, when they leave university.

To support the transition from education into work, the Department for Work and Pensions is piloting the adjustments passport. We currently have two universities —Wolverhampton and Manchester Metropolitan—piloting the adjustments passport with the aim that a third will come on board in January.

The adjustments passport will provide students with a disability or health condition with an up-to-date record of the adjustments they are using and any future in-work support needs they may have. It will reduce the need for the student to repeat details of their disability and how it could affect them in work and reduce the need for a holistic assessment where the needs are documented.

The adjustments passport will provide a clear gateway of adjustment support by raising the visibility of support available for each stage of the transitions journey. It will also provide a transferable record of adjustments that can be used to support the adjustments journey and reduce the need for assessments. In addition, it will include a communication tool to support discussions with employers. It also gives visibility of in-work support if an employer employs a disabled person, and assurances and support to progress in work. It will also support potential employers by documenting the in-work support the student requires and the possibility of support the student could receive. It will also help to raise awareness of the Access to Work scheme and the support it can provide.

We recognise that talking about workplace adjustments can be difficult. To support and empower the student, the passport can be used as a communication tool to enable them to have a more structured and confident conversation about their disability and the adjustments they need with employers. Knowing what support is available for every stage of the transition journey will help to empower young disabled people to have confidence that their support needs are captured and aspire them to achieve their goals and chosen career rather than limiting their choices.

Once in employment, the passport would continue to add value by supporting progression and enabling disabled people to transfer between job roles more easily by increasing portability of support and reducing the need for reassessment where job roles or needs are similar.

Furthermore, a range of other DWP initiatives is supporting disabled people to prepare for, to start, to stay and to succeed in work. These include the Work and Health programme, the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, the Access to Work scheme, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including employment advice in the NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy service.

In 2021, the health and disability Green Paper, Shaping Future Support, explored how the welfare system can better meet the needs of disabled people and people with health conditions now and in the future to build a system that enables people to live independently and move into work where possible. The national disability strategy aims to ensure that all disabled people can play a full role in society. The strategy takes into account the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on disabled people, with focus on the issues that affect them the most, including employment.

I turn to the points raised by noble Lords. I will do my best to answer all the queries and if not, will of course write to noble Lords and put copies in the Library. The noble Lord, Lord Shipley, and the noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, talked about the closed-off route to universal credit. While closing the NSESA route leaves no direct path to claim universal credit for some disabled people who are already in education, in doing so this recognises that all students, including disabled students, have access to the support system, which includes support that recognises a person’s disability, such as the disabled students’ allowance for those in higher education, and discretionary bursaries and grants if undertaking further education. Disabled students also have access to other funds from their colleges. I will need to clarify that point.

The noble Lord, Lord Shipley, was basically saying that the regulations were a regressive change. This amendment to the regulations simply maintains the current policy intent: to allow those entitled to personal independence payments or disability living allowance who are already assessed as having limited capability for work to take up or continue in education, with the intention that it may help them into work in the future. The new regulations do not reduce the existing support currently available to disabled students, but simply ensure that this support comes from the appropriate source of funding, which is the student support system of loans and grants. These new regulations do not remove entitlement to universal credit from any existing disabled student who is currently receiving it, nor from any future claim to universal credit from a person who is entitled to a qualifying disability benefit, such as personal independence payments, who is subsequently determined to have a limited capability for work and who wishes to start a course of education.

The noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, asked why the Government did not do a full impact assessment. An equality analysis was completed and shared with the Social Security Advisory Committee for its consideration. The noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, also looked at the impact on students in further education with special educational needs and disabilities. Although the maximum allowed duration of a course is 12 weeks, if the work coach considers that the course is compatible with the person’s work-related requirements, they are referred for a work capability assessment and, if subsequently determined to have limited capability for work, there is then no limit to the duration of any subsequent course of training or study which a work coach considers will give the person the best chance of securing work. Additionally, if the person is entitled to a qualifying disability benefit, such as the personal independence payment, they will continue to be entitled to universal credit, as they will now meet the disabled student exception.

The noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, also mentioned the position of those young people. The condition of entitlement to universal credit is not to be receiving education. Moreover, there are some exceptions, for example, the responsibility of a child entitled to DLA/PIP and already having a determination of LCW. Therefore, most young people, such as those in sixth form colleges, will not be entitled to universal credit as they are already in full-time education. To be entitled to universal credit, disabled students must not be receiving education, already be entitled to a qualifying disability benefit, and already have a determination of LCW through a WCA.

The noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, mentioned that there had been a number of SIs relating to this and a number of amendments. The Government are committed to supporting disabled people. These regulations ensure that disabled people get support from the correct source of funding—mainly from student finance, as I said earlier.

The noble Baroness also asked about the numbers involved. It is difficult to give any firm evidence through the data. The data on how many disabled students have been using the new-style ESA workaround to meet the entitlement conditions for UC is very limited, but numbers are considered to be relatively small. I cannot go any further on numbers than that at the moment but, if there is anything more I can add, I will of course write to the noble Baroness.

In summary, while it is the case that the amending regulations will close the workaround and end an unintended route to universal credit that a relatively small number of disabled students have been using, the new regulations do not reduce the existing support currently available to disabled students. The new regulations ensure that support continues to come from the appropriate source of government funding, namely the student support systems of loans and grants, which includes support that recognises a person’s disability. I therefore ask the noble Lord, Lord Storey, to withdraw his Motion.

[Lord Storey (LD)]

I thank all Members for their careful, considered comments, and particularly the noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, for her thorough explanation of what young disabled students face. Her invention of the ministerial nod is something we should perhaps use in future.

I was very interested in the comments of my noble friend Lord Shipley as chair of the Youth Unemployment Select Committee, which has just produced its report, and of the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, about that impact assessment. We need to see that and understand it in future deliberations. My noble friend Lady Janke of course talked about the injustice we all face.

This matter is so important, as education would improve disabled students’ employment prospects but also their feeling of well-being and of being part of a community. Of course, it also has some unforeseen consequences. For example, it affects the ability of family care givers to work, as their care responsibilities increase if a disabled young person they care for is not in education. Both the carer and the disabled young person will be worse off as a result.

The Minister said in his closing comments that disabled people will get the funding support they need and that new regulations do not reduce existing support. Those are very powerful words. I am minded to test the opinion of the House on this. However, if the Minister can give me one of these new-found ministerial nods to say that we can perhaps review the situation and see how his comment that every young person will not get their funding reduced is working out, I am happy to have that opportunity to have a proper discussion and debate about this. I am a little disappointed that so few people were able to be in the House for this important debate.

In June 2021, Flinn Kays, a disabled psychology student who receives the enhanced rate of both the mobility and daily living components of the PIP, which the Minister talked about, was granted permission to apply for judicial review of the 2020 regulations. He calculates that he may be entitled to around £900 a month in universal credit but, due to the 2020 regulations, his universal credit claim was refused and he was not invited to a work capability assessment. There is no date yet for the judicial review, but when that reports it might be a good time for us to come back and debate this whole area, so that we see that, as the Minister said, every student gets the funding they need.

Motion withdrawn.