Part of Orders of the Day — Disability Living Allowance and Disability Working Allowance Bill – in the House of Commons at 4:32 pm on 7 February 1991.
Mr Jack Ashley
, Stoke-on-Trent South
4:32,
7 February 1991
I was sorry to miss the Opening Speech of the hon. Member for Exeter (Mr. Hannam), who has done much work on behalf of the independent living fund. The new Clause is about a small group of special people who are particularly and severely disabled. Their struggle is unbelievable—in many ways, beyond the imagination of many of us.
Hon. Members will recall the contribution of Mary Greaves, the director of the Disablement Income Group. She told me that it took hours for her to prepare simply to go out to a meeting—to get dressed, bathed, leave home and get into the car—activities that we perform easily when we come to the House. As I say, the effort required by them is extraordinary and is unimaginable by able-bodied people. We should keep people such as Mary Greaves in mind as we decide whether to accept this new clause.
The Minister should remember that, by agreeing to the new clause, he would help not only the disabled but himself, because he knows, being a statistician, that he will, as a Minister, have to find much more to keep them in institutions rather than it would cost to allow them their independence.
Local authorities are not the appropriate organisations to provide the type of provision that is given by the independent living fund. Indeed, they are the last bodies to wish to undertake the task, because local authorities always provide funds for popular causes. The severely disabled are not a popular cause in that sense. Therefore, I hope that the Minister will accept the common sense embodied in the new clause, which would then clearly be approved by the House.
Allowance for those who need help looking after themselves. Not means tested.
Factsheet from RNID here: http://www.rnid.org.uk/html/factsheets/benefits_disability_allowance_and_deaf_people.htm
Official page from Department for Work and Pensions here: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/disability_liv_allowance.asp
The Opening Speech is the first speech in a debate. The MP who has moved, or proposed, the motion outlines their view of why the House should adopt the motion.
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During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
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