Kate Hoey leads Commons bid to reverse DLA cut

A Labour MP is spearheading a cross-party campaign to stop the government’s plan to slash the disability living allowance budget.

Kate Hoey has tabled an early day motion calling on ministers to reverse their decision to introduce medical assessments for new and existing DLA claimants of working age from 2013 onwards.

The move is designed to reduce spending on DLA by £1.075bn a year by 2014-15 and is expected to reduce the number of existing working-age claimants by one fifth, meaning 360,000 people would lose the benefit.

Hoey’s motion has so far been signed by 14 MPs from all parties, including the Conservative Peter Bottomley and the Liberal Democrats’ Mike Hancock.

Hoey said: “Disability living allowance is a universal benefit that pays for the additional costs disabled people incur due to their care and mobility needs and it is not based on a particular disabling condition, which is why a medical assessment is not the best option.

“To bring in medical assessments for a benefit which is not medically related and which is intended for the cost of care is absolutely wrong; claimants will suffer additional anxiety at new or frequent medical assessments and the government must carefully reconsider its position.”

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