Written evidence submitted by Snowden
Award Scheme
1.0 SUMMARY
1.1 This brief submission to the select committee
inquiry relates to the announcement that "from April 2011,
Housing Benefit claimants with a disability and a non-resident
carer will be entitled to funding for an extra bedroom".
1.2 We and a number of organisations have been actively
pursuing this particular "reasonable adjustment" for
disabled people since 2008 and we were delighted when the change
was finally announced (even though it will not come into effect
until April 2011).
1.3 The announcement clearly enabled the Chancellor
to slip one small positive message amongst a number of other changes
that would adversely impact many HB claimants.
1.4 We seek the Committee's reassurance that, even
if they do not support some of the other Budget announcements,
they will recommend retaining and possibly strengthening the planned
additional provision for disabled people.
2.0 OUR SUBMISSION
TO THE
PREVIOUS SELECT
COMMITTEE INQUIRY
INTO LOCAL
HOUSING ALLOWANCE
(LHA)
2.1 In our submission to the previous Select Committee
inquiry into LHA, we had stressed that the system failed to make
allowances for an extra bedroom for disabled people who need 24-hour
carers (who are normally resident elsewhere — eg paid carers
or community service volunteers). We argued that disabled people
in this situation were not being provided with an appropriate
adjustment to recognise their circumstances, which is discriminatory
and a significant obstacle to "Putting People First"
and its goals of promoting independence, choice and control.
2.2 We also explained that the discretionary nature
of Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) suggested that they are
not the right route for the provision of such critical needs.
Additionally that, since DHP budgets are strictly limited, genuine
requests are frequently turned down simply due to lack of available
funding.
2.3 We were delighted that the Committee's report
recognised there was "clear evidence that the current
LHA rules constitute a real barrier to independent living for
disabled people who require an extra bedroom" and that
it recommended changes to LHA rules "as a matter of urgency
to allow for reasonable adjustments for disabled people."
Also, it noted the "continuing failure to conduct an equality
impact assessment and demonstrate compliance with the Disability
Equality Duty"
3.0 THE BUDGET
ANNOUNCEMENT
3.1 The June Budget statement by the Chancellor included
the words: "And from now we will cover the cost of an
additional room for those claimants with a disability who need
a carer." We were elated — but discovered
afterwards that this change would not in fact come into effect
until April 2011.
4.0 POINTS FOR
FURTHER CONSIDERATION
4.1 As the last Select Committee pushed so hard for
this change, we hope the current committee will continue to support
it.
4.2 Whilst the adjustment is planned for those who
need 24-hour care, the Committee might also like to consider a
similar recommendation for other disabled people. For example,
some disabled people need extra space for equipment and some families
have a severely disabled child who needs regular night-time attention
and where sharing a room with a sibling is not in either child's
best interest. Such situations will undoubtedly need to be reviewed
on a case-by-case basis, but where such a reasonable adjustment
is considered appropriate; it should not be refused simply because
of local budget issues.
20 August 2010
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