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Social Justice > Published by Alex Hern, January 10th 2012 at 12:19 pm

Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people

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In an interview yesterday with BBC Radio Five, the disability minister Maria Miller urged campaigner Sue Marsh to use her “extensive right of appeal through tribunals” if she was unhappy about the DWP’s decision to reduce her award for the disability living allowance (DLA).

Miller wasn’t wrong about this: disabled people who believe the decision about their DLA award is inaccurate can and do challenge the DWP at tribunals. And in 38 per cent of appeals relating to the Disability Living Allowance, the tribunals find in favour of the claimant (pdf).

But what Miller doesn’t seem to realise is that Ken Clarke’s proposals in the legal aid, sentencing and punishment of offenders (LASPO) Bill, which is being debated in the Lords today, will severely limit access to justice through tribunals for thousands of DLA recipients, closing this option to them.

This cut – which will save just £25 million from the total legal aid budget of £2 billion (pdf) – will remove legal aid for all welfare benefits cases. It will leave disabled people who’ve fallen foul of administrative error or an inaccurate benefits decision alone in the face of a complex and confusing appeals system that requires nearly 9000 pages of official guidance.

While Miller may not know about it, disability campaigners have for some time, and are vehemently opposed to the proposed cut.  For instance, the charity Scope and campaign group 38 degrees have both been running campaigns to harness public outrage over these proposals, and encourage Peers to support a Lib Dem amendment that would prevent this from happening.

Opponents of the LASPO bill highlight the somewhat suspicious timing of introducing legal aid cuts for welfare cases during a period of massive upheaval in the welfare system. While millions of people are having their benefits reassessed, their ability to challenge an inaccurate outcome through appeal is also being significantly curbed.

New analysis from Sound Off For Justice released yesterday further reinforced these suspicions by highlighting the serious gaps in the government’s argument that the legal aid reforms are intended to save any money to the public purse.

These findings were just the latest confirmation that the reforms will prove to be a false economy, creating greater knock-on costs to the NHS and the public purse further down the line.

The report also undermined a further claim of the government that the costs of legal aid have spiralled out of control. The data reveal that for welfare benefits cases the opposite is true.

Whilst the amount of money spent on legal aid to help challenge incorrect decisions has, roughly, stayed at the same level over the recent years, the volume of cases that receive funding through the legal aid system has risen much more steeply.

This suggests that more people are getting help with the same budget, adding weight to arguments that advice for this type of cases is cost-efficient.

Even Tory grandee Lord Newton has called the cumulative impact of the government’s legal aid and welfare reforms a “pincer movement” on disabled people.

Miller’s comment on Radio Five exposed that the left hand of government doesn’t know what the right is doing. Worse, it highlighted that despite being the minister for disabled people, she is blissfully unaware of the impact of government policy on disabled people.

Today, disabilities campaigners are asking people to call an MP or Peer to raise awareness of the Spartacus report. They’ve also launched a twibbon to show your support. The welfare bill begins its journey through the lords tomorrow, and the next few weeks of the fight will be crucial for tens of thousands of disabled people in Britain. They need your help.

See also:

• Time to step forward on the Spartacus report – Alex Hern, January 9th 2012

• Boris has slammed Coalition welfare reforms – from the left – Daniel Elton, January 6th 2012

• Five reasons to oppose the welfare bill – Daniel Elton, December 12th 2011

• Society and the media are failing the sick and disabled – Sue Marsh, May 13th 2011

• Government plans to cut DLA could cause extreme hardship – Sue Marsh, January 24th 2011

  • http://www.leftfootforward.org/2012/01/legal-aid-cuts-another-false-economy/ Osborne’s slashing of legal aid: Another false economy | Left Foot Forward

    [...] also: • Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people – Alex Hern, January 10th [...]

  • http://www.leftfootforward.org/2012/01/everyone-concerned-about-welfare-reform-needs-to-step-up-to-the-mark/ Everyone concerned about welfare reform needs to step up to the mark | Left Foot Forward

    [...] also: • Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people – Alex Hern, January 10th [...]

  • Debbie Jackson

    [UK] Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people | Left Foot Forward http://t.co/OnYT3ZSb #spartacusreport

  • http://twitter.com/afteratosassess/status/156890044416790528 AfterAtosAssessment

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on legal aid cuts affecting disabled http://t.co/aKNeH8vU MARIA MILLER IGNORANT FULL STOP!!

  • http://twitter.com/skyburial/status/156913548826652672 Michael Gould

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant how legal aid cuts affect disabled ppl http://t.co/oDCQqd3t #spartacusreport @PrivateEyeNews

  • http://twitter.com/AtosVictims1 Atos Victims

    The Legal Aid debarcle is nothing more than an attempt to remove disabled peoples right to a democratic justicer system.

    The amount of claiamnts having to take Atos/DWP to tribunal/appeal is growing each and everyday, removing legal aid from some of the most vulnerable in society is i believe the political classes going back to the days of a Eugenics ideology, all the political parties are as guilty as one another on attacking the vulnerable, Ed Miliband is just as corrupt over this problem, does he speak out against it?No…

  • http://twitter.com/gemini2359/status/157181398460014592 heather smart

    Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people | Left Foot Forward http://t.co/xBgzM8cL” #tories #skynews#bbc

  • http://twitter.com/daz_sheldon/status/157197355064639492 Darren Bartlett

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/FWkh1eaW

  • http://twitter.com/shellzdebellz/status/157197688037838848 Shelly Stainton

    "@mndcampaigns: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people: http://t.co/NOcnpMWY pse RT

  • http://twitter.com/rowllypowlly/status/157214411935854592 Rowland Paul Hill

    Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people | Left Foot Forward http://t.co/xBgzM8cL” #tories #skynews#bbc

  • http://twitter.com/unite785/status/157222646768082944 Brnch Sec Ruth H

    I'm afraid after #SpartacusReport, how can you trust Cameron on benefit reform #PMQs http://t.co/Rp8b1cPd

  • http://twitter.com/bigagh/status/157275203171393536 AGH

    #wrb. When the DWP cock up, you've a right to appeal…to a tribunal. Legal Aid can help but that is to be cut http://t.co/kb1lOOmB

  • http://twitter.com/foxedkat/status/157279003982561280 Kat

    #wrb. When the DWP cock up, you've a right to appeal…to a tribunal. Legal Aid can help but that is to be cut http://t.co/kb1lOOmB

  • http://twitter.com/jaimelicious/status/157289936184291328 Jaime Fay O’Connor

    #wrb. When the DWP cock up, you've a right to appeal…to a tribunal. Legal Aid can help but that is to be cut http://t.co/kb1lOOmB

  • http://twitter.com/wildcandytuft/status/157290098474483712 Steph

    #wrb. When the DWP cock up, you've a right to appeal…to a tribunal. Legal Aid can help but that is to be cut http://t.co/kb1lOOmB

  • http://twitter.com/ilegal/status/157377785827033088 Patrick Torsney ✔

    Disability Minister ignorant on how #legalaid cuts will affect disabled people: http://t.co/qGKWCDNq #LASPO

  • http://twitter.com/sweetalmond2010/status/157380699672952832 Rebecca Saunders

    Disability Minister ignorant on how #legalaid cuts will affect disabled people: http://t.co/qGKWCDNq #LASPO

  • http://twitter.com/redjolly1/status/157384616490172418 Debbie Jolly

    RT @ilegal Disability Minister ignorant on how #legalaid cuts will affect disabled people: http://t.co/bMK3S7pJ #LASPO

  • http://twitter.com/helentyarian/status/157385096029155328 Helen Williams

    Disability Minister ignorant on how #legalaid cuts will affect disabled people: http://t.co/qGKWCDNq #LASPO

  • http://twitter.com/glenchisholm/status/157399967500206080 Glen Chisholm

    Disability Minister ignorant on how #legalaid cuts will affect disabled people: http://t.co/qGKWCDNq #LASPO

  • http://twitter.com/legalaidlink/status/157416652131147776 LegalAidLink

    Graph here shows cost of #legalaid for welfare benefits has stayed the same over 6 years despite helping more people http://t.co/rt2WQaeK

  • http://twitter.com/sassietink/status/157417192684650496 Sarah Nuttall

    Graph here shows cost of #legalaid for welfare benefits has stayed the same over 6 years despite helping more people http://t.co/rt2WQaeK

  • http://twitter.com/edreyesjourno/status/157418082070052864 Eduardo Reyes

    Graph here shows cost of #legalaid for welfare benefits has stayed the same over 6 years despite helping more people http://t.co/rt2WQaeK

  • http://twitter.com/mylegalforum/status/157579489319198721 Nick

    Graph here shows cost of #legalaid for welfare benefits has stayed the same over 6 years despite helping more people http://t.co/rt2WQaeK

  • http://twitter.com/northantsrec/status/157580870058917889 Northamptonshire REC

    Graph here shows cost of #legalaid for welfare benefits has stayed the same over 6 years despite helping more people http://t.co/rt2WQaeK

  • http://twitter.com/girl_interrupt_/status/157582508815429632 Girl Interrupted

    Graph here shows cost of #legalaid for welfare benefits has stayed the same over 6 years despite helping more people http://t.co/rt2WQaeK

  • http://twitter.com/wiltshirecab/status/157593631627296768 WiltsCitizensAdvice

    Graph here shows cost of #legalaid for welfare benefits has stayed the same over 6 years despite helping more people http://t.co/rt2WQaeK

  • http://twitter.com/celticknottweet/status/157621776623472640 Celtic Knot

    Graph here shows cost of #legalaid for welfare benefits has stayed the same over 6 years despite helping more people http://t.co/rt2WQaeK

  • http://twitter.com/ylalawyers/status/157728744155521024 YoungLegalAidLawyers

    Graph here shows cost of #legalaid for welfare benefits has stayed the same over 6 years despite helping more people http://t.co/rt2WQaeK

  • http://twitter.com/notatallsure/status/157731306602631168 Karen Chandler

    Graph here shows cost of #legalaid for welfare benefits has stayed the same over 6 years despite helping more people http://t.co/rt2WQaeK

  • http://twitter.com/alexandria2913/status/157734371279900673 Erin A.

    Graph here shows cost of #legalaid for welfare benefits has stayed the same over 6 years despite helping more people http://t.co/rt2WQaeK

  • http://twitter.com/unite785/status/157745205041311744 Brnch Sec Ruth H

    Graph here shows cost of #legalaid for welfare benefits has stayed the same over 6 years despite helping more people http://t.co/rt2WQaeK

  • http://www.leftfootforward.org/2012/01/look-left-13-01-12/ Look Left – Wonga’s student ‘scam’ comes unstuck | Left Foot Forward

    [...] As Alex Hern wrote: [...]

  • http://twitter.com/tyarian_v_cuts/status/157941228397264897 Ty Arian Solicitors

    Graph here shows cost of #legalaid for welfare benefits has stayed the same over 6 years despite helping more people http://t.co/rt2WQaeK

  • http://twitter.com/wildcandytuft/status/157962919429144576 Steph

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/e4NbocBl #spartacusreport #wrb

  • http://twitter.com/wildcandytuft/status/157963386502647809 Steph

    suspicious timing of introducing legal aid cuts for welfare cases during time of massive upheaval in the welfare system http://t.co/e4NbocBl

  • http://twitter.com/feralmustard/status/157964055347339266 Feral Mustard

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/e4NbocBl #spartacusreport #wrb

  • http://twitter.com/foxedkat/status/157964530138349569 Kat

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/e4NbocBl #spartacusreport #wrb

  • http://twitter.com/alanroygbiv/status/157966354371182592 Alan Thomas

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/e4NbocBl #spartacusreport #wrb

  • http://twitter.com/britishroses1/status/157967634363727872 B Rawsthorn

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/e4NbocBl #spartacusreport #wrb

  • wildejamey

    Actually I suspect she knows the impact very well. If it’s ignorance, it’s ignorance by design. On legal aid for disability claims, I have to say that getting help even while legal aid is supposedly available is difficult enough. I know of a case where someone pursuing a case was initially referred to Community Legal Service but the company pulled out half-way through stating it was pulling out of welfare advice as not viable. The Camden Law Centre apparently does not take on welfare cases (so why is it there?). CAB – the supposed bulwark of the disadvantaged? generic advice with very little appetite for digging deeper. The same case above has been waiting two months for a response. Finally the standard of judiciary in the lower tribunals is extremely patchy, with some decisions showing a very low calibre of analysis and legal knowledge. Indeed, many of them seem to be only to happy to see clients pass appeals up to the Upper Tribunal to reduce the backlog off their hands.

  • http://twitter.com/wtbdavidg/status/158326533885407232 David Gillon

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/mWFpwNvW

  • http://twitter.com/feralmustard/status/158326558807949312 Feral Mustard

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/mWFpwNvW

  • http://twitter.com/lilacwheelz/status/158326620598435842 Lilacwheelz

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/mWFpwNvW

  • http://twitter.com/helen_hale/status/158327849684705280 Helen Hale

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/mWFpwNvW

  • http://twitter.com/mrshobbitwife/status/158328684930011138 Rachel Underwood

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/mWFpwNvW

  • http://twitter.com/auntysnake/status/158331229006069762 love & hisses

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/mWFpwNvW

  • http://twitter.com/superchowchow/status/158333905013972992 Rupert

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/mWFpwNvW

  • http://twitter.com/themingford/status/158338656208289792 Thomas Hemingford

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/mWFpwNvW

  • http://twitter.com/oldtrekkie/status/158353348301553664 Ann Woods

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/mWFpwNvW

  • http://twitter.com/grumpygiraffe/status/158360893636349952 Paul Meeks

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/mWFpwNvW

  • http://twitter.com/rosenamc/status/158462511488839680 Rosena McKeown

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/mWFpwNvW

  • http://twitter.com/painfatiguesppt/status/158467557748252673 Tracy Martin

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/mWFpwNvW

  • http://twitter.com/calimb/status/158491084060766209 Helen Brown

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/mWFpwNvW

  • http://twitter.com/spartacustweets/status/158501175732342786 Cat

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/mWFpwNvW

  • http://twitter.com/redhndd/status/158539199182667776 Rob Henthorn

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/RLUmx8Dd | #wrb

  • http://twitter.com/redhndd/status/158543862577627136 Rob Henthorn

    Disability Minister Maria Miller can't see how cuts add up – unravelling the safety net! http://t.co/e4D6baFb | #wrb #spartacusreport

  • http://twitter.com/greathomergirl/status/158604069861195777 GreatHomerGirl

    RT @leftfootfwd: Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people http://t.co/mWFpwNvW

  • http://www.leftfootforward.org/2012/01/800-years-of-magna-carta-at-stake/ The principles of British fairness, the rule of law and Magna Carta are at stake | Left Foot Forward

    [...] also: • Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people – Alex Hern, January 10th [...]

  • http://twitter.com/aspiemum/status/159313940055195649 Vanessa

    Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people: http://t.co/VsRNbmA2 ft @suey2y

  • http://twitter.com/Mylegalforum Nick

    As a welfare benefit specialist of many years experience I have helped literally thousands of claimants through the intricate complexities of their cases. Much of the volume of our casework is in bringing cases to Tribunals where we receive exceptionally good results; – we consistently highlight the high failure rate of DWP/HMRC/Local Authority decision-making by obtaining a commendable success rate. We overturn an average of 70% of decisions which the state consistently gets wrong.

    Many of the failures in the decision making process can be attributed to the wildly inaccurate medical assessments which private healthcare providers (such as ATOS) so often get wrong. The Employment & Support Allowance is a classic example of a benefit which is not working because the medical assessors and decision-makers misunderstand the whole purpose of the allowance. It is not about finding claimants capable of work, it is about recognising those who need support to transition from welfare to work, the allowance also recognises how some are simply too incapacitated to work. We’ve listened to far too much of the grossly distorted press who seem hell bent on callously demonising the disabled. We have to stop pretending that genuinely disabled or incapacitated people exist; – they do. You cannot miraculously de-badge the disabled as suddenly fit to work to suit government’s cost cutting agenda, it will backfire on government when employers struggle to place people in work, it will become blindingly obvious that simply calling individuals ‘fit for work’ does not make them fit enough to carry the work out.

    I’ve written reams on government’s ridiculously optimistic welfare reforms, what we will see as government presses ahead with its WORK programme, is a spectacular failure; – it won’t work. The cost of these ill-conceived reforms will amount to billions of pounds when you look at how much is being thrown at welfare to work; – we are already seeing an absolute explosion of appeals against unjust decisions coming before Tribunals which now have to sit 6 days a week just to get through the escalating numbers. Welfare reform – in its current form will be a car crash which we will all end up paying for. The cost will far outweigh any savings.

    It’s soul destroying to know that soon, if government gets it ways on legal aid reform, people will be practically disabled from effectively bringing their cases before our Tribunals without proper help. We help the right people, for all the right reasons and obtain the right results. Our fixed fee is a paltry £150 per case regardless of how long it takes to complete. We’re not fat cat lawyers, we are dedicated professionals with a social conscience over the work we do. The cost of people being unassisted will see appeals shoot up to a level which will embarrass government and deeply bite into the savings it purports to make from welfare reform. For every £1 spent on welfare benefit legal aid, £8.80 is saved; – government chooses to ignore the value of the work we do because it suits its agenda, we will see what a huge mistake they make if the perilous legal aid bill becomes legislation. I sincerely hope it does not.

    Rather than make us their foe, government would do better to get sensible and be-friend us, we work on the front line and could constructively work with the authorities on getting welfare reform right; – they completely ignore the value of our contribution, frankly it strikes me as rather foolish and ultimately immensely costly in the long run.

    Nickd
    @mylegalforums

  • http://www.leftfootforward.org/2012/01/the-insurance-industrys-millions-to-the-tories-are-set-to-pay-off/ The insurance industry’s millions to the Tories are set to pay off | Left Foot Forward

    [...] Disability minister ignorant on how legal aid cuts affecting disabled people – Alex Hern, January 10th [...]