Disability groups were celebrating last night after the House of Lords amended the Welfare Reform Bill to protect some disabled and sick claimants of employment and support allowance from cuts.
Government plans to limit ESA to one year for people with some prospect of work and with some savings or a partner in work were scrapped as peers inserted a two-year limit and exempted cancer patients from any limits. Also, government plans to end young disabled people's eligibility for ESA on a non-means tested basis were also overturned.
The shifts have been described as a "victory for common sense" by Scope and a "vote for compassion" by Macmillan.
However, the man on our left - employment minister Chris Grayling - has said that the government will simply reinsert the cuts, reports The Guardian.
Much will depend on whether the Lib Dems can pressure their coalition partners to make some concessions. We will see.
Government plans to limit ESA to one year for people with some prospect of work and with some savings or a partner in work were scrapped as peers inserted a two-year limit and exempted cancer patients from any limits. Also, government plans to end young disabled people's eligibility for ESA on a non-means tested basis were also overturned.
The shifts have been described as a "victory for common sense" by Scope and a "vote for compassion" by Macmillan.
However, the man on our left - employment minister Chris Grayling - has said that the government will simply reinsert the cuts, reports The Guardian.
Much will depend on whether the Lib Dems can pressure their coalition partners to make some concessions. We will see.
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