“Without the disability living allowance, I wouldn’t be able to afford to drive my car,” Kevin Rodgers of Stevenage local government branch told UNISON’s disabled members’ conference this morning.
He was speaking out against the government’s plans to replace the DLA with the new personal independence payment.
“But it’s much wider than its affect on me.” And other delegates agreed, adding their own experiences of the affect the government’s plans could have on them, their friends, their families and their colleagues.
Craig Martin from the South West condemned the Tories’ welfare reforms and attack on DLA, which at £130 a week, roughly equalled an hour of a cabinet minister’s wages, “not including first-class upgrades of course.”
Peter Stafford condemned the government’s plans, observing that they would see a return to “Dickensian” times.
And Wolverhampton’s Paulette White described it as “a disgrace”.
Howard Beck asked: “What’s happening? Why is it happening? As BSL users we’re completely left in the dark.”
Conference urged UNISON to make information on accessing benefits and services available to members.
