Government could face another welfare rebellion in the Lords

Remember those rebellions in the Lords on welfare earlier this year? Well, the fight hasn’t disappeared entirely from the Upper Chamber. Secondary legislation filling in the detail of the Welfare Reform Act is the new battleground, and I understand another uprising could be on the cards over regulations affecting disabled people.

Baroness Thomas of Winchester, who regularly cropped up on the Naughty List last year when peers revolted on the welfare reform primary legislation, is calling on the Government to think again about its regulations for the mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment, the benefit replacing the Disability Living Allowance. A last minute change to the regulations means that only those who cannot walk, with the help of aids, more than 20 metres will be entitled to a Motability car. Thomas tells Coffee House that she is annoyed that this change was made without prior consultation:

‘The government have been very good at publishing the PIP criteria in draft and consulting – we saw the first two drafts – but they have changed one key criterion at the last minute.