Disability Benefits Consortium calls on government to introduce further measures to protect disabled people’s incomes during outbreak of coronavirus

Charities' recommendations include that DWP legacy benefits should be uplifted in line with increases in universal credit, and that the limited capability for work element be restored

The Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC) has called on the government to introduce further measures to protect disabled people's incomes during the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19).

In an open letter to the Secretary of State Dr Thérèse Coffey, the DBC welcomes recent measures put in place to protect the incomes of people adversely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, but highlights that those living with a disability and long-term health conditions tend to have lower real incomes and higher costs than the general population.

The Consortium therefore calls on the government to better protect those individuals by - 

• giving high priority to resolving the capacity issues caused by the increased number of people claiming, and to ensure clear guidance is made available regarding the correct process to make both a digital claim for universal credit and a non-digital claim, including how the verification call is to be made;
• uplifting DWP legacy benefits in line with the recent increases in the universal credit standard allowances, and restoring the work-related activity component in employment and support allowance and the limited capability for work element in universal credit;
• suspending the benefit cap and the two-child policy;
• increasing the disabled child element of universal credit to its level in the legacy system;
• making universal credit advances non-repayable grants for disabled people;
• explicitly suspending work-related conditionality and associated sanctions;
• suspending debt repayment deductions from universal credit awards;
• ensuring that claimants with a terminal illness can apply for all relevant benefits via the special rules without the DWP needing sight of a DS1500 form;
• paying the basic/standard rate to claimants whose benefit is suspended pending a mandatory reconsideration, until the process is completed – and also, fully reinstating a benefit that has been wholly or partly withdrawn and is awaiting mandatory reconsideration or an appeal; and
• encouraging local authorities to remove features such as the two-child policy and the self-employed claimants’ minimum income floor from their local council tax support/reduction schemes.

For more information see the Disability Benefits Consortium's letter to Dr Coffey (27 March 2020).