Local Councillor for Harbour Ward Ian Pattison has hailed the decision to preserve the mobility element of Disability Living Allowance.
The mobility element of DLA currently amounts to £51 per week and ensures approximately 80,000 people across the country with a large proportion in the Lancaster and Morecambe area are given the additional support that they need to live a comfortable life.
Labour Party Councillor Pattison joined local disability campaigners earlier this year on a mass rally of the Hardest Hit by cuts to disability benefits in Manchester. Campaigners are concerned about the impact of the Government’s welfare reforms on their independence and benefits.
“I have been working with campaigners in Lancaster and Morecambe and we intend to launch a Hardest Hit campaign here in the district to press the Government into keeping services and funding for the most vulnerable,” he said. “The mobility element of DLA is a lifeline for disabled people in Lancaster and Morecambe and ensures that disabled people have the opportunity to lead independent lives.”
“This u-turn by the Tory-led Government shows that their policies simply need to be thought through and planned out with more consideration for the people that will be affected. The Low Review which has proved that the Government’s plans to scrap the mobility element of DLA would critically reduce the ability of disabled people to have control of their lives.”
The Government confirmed to MPs that the plans to cut the mobility element of DLA would now be withdrawn from the Welfare Reform Bill.
“It is crucial that the most vulnerable people are protected from Government cuts,” Councillor Pattison added, “and I will be working to make sure provisions and services for disabled people are maintained.”