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The millions of advantages affected by the planned changes to the welfare of labor will soon be able to say their opinion on the controversial package, but with one important catch: They may not talk about the planned cuts.
This is because several of the policies will not be included in the consultation, the Department of Work and Pension (DWP) ‘s’ Pathways to Work’ Green Paper, which asked the championships and charities to nominate the process a ‘crook’.
The proposed changes of £ 4.8 billion in welfare cuts would scale some of the most important health -related rights in the UK.
The biggest cost-saving measure in the package is the changes to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP)-which is claimed by 3.6 million people-which make up 85 percent of savings.
In addition, it is a freezing point for the rate that halves the universal credit health element for existing claimants, and the move to almost halve it for new plaintiffs.
But none of these measures will be included in the DWP consultation, which means that disabled people will not be asked to discuss the changes during any of the sessions. In total, only half of the 22 policies proposed in the package will be within the scope of the conversations.
Those interested in sharing their view were invited to attend one of the 15 person or online sessions that will take place in the UK for 12 weeks from April to June.
Social Security and Disability Minister Sir Stephen Timms announced the beginning of the consultation on Monday, saying: ‘We inherited a broken welfare system, which encouraged people’s health health, closed people out of work and is not suitable for a future in which so much of our long -term health conditions face.
‘We want a system that really works for the disabled and those with health conditions, as well as the country and the economy, and we want to hear their views and votes in the heart of the new system.
“I encourage people to get involved so they can say if we listen, learn and provide support that will help millions work, put welfare spending on a more sustainable path and unlock growth as part of our plan for change.”
But a coalition of 21 groups called the Disabled People’s Organization (DPO) forum has now written an open letter for work and pension secretary Liz Kendall, which raises “serious concerns about the implications of human rights” of the consultation process.
The letter, signed by Disability Rights UK and Amnesty International, says the DWP has clearly already decided on some of the most important policies in the package, which contradicts the cabinet office’s own rules on consultations.
It adds that it is also concerned about the delay in the publication of accessible versions of the article, as well as the possibility that MPs will vote on the policy without seeing an analysis of how they will help people work.
“In short, the consultation is essentially a crook – it removes our rights as disabled people to participate in civil society,” the signatories say, adding that labor “must ensure that all suggestions are open to consultation and public investigation, and that consultation questions that cover all policy proposals in the newspaper (not just the DWP).”
In January, the Supreme Court found that a consultation on changes in the welfare health assessments proposed by the previous Conservative Government was illegal because they were “unfair and misleading”.
In his ruling, Mr. Justice Calver said the eight -week consultation is “hurry” and “unfair”, and finds that it does not reflect the ‘substantial’ loss of benefits that many claimants would have had as a result of the planned changes.
He added that it gave the ‘misleading impression’ that the plans were about supporting people in the work when cutting welfare was probably the ‘central base’.
In response to the sentence at the time, labor said he would address “his shortcomings” on his own consultation. However, the DPO forum writes that it calls with serious concerns ‘striking similarities to this process in the Green Paper.’
A DWP spokesman said: ‘We have set out a greasy package of health and disability benefits reforms to make urgent changes so that people are really supported at work while putting the welfare system on a more sustainable foot, so that the safety net is always there to protect those who need it.
“The publication of all accessible versions caused the beginning of the official consultation, all of which gave 12 weeks to respond.
“We encourage people to get involved with the consultation, so that a wide variety of voices are reflected in the answers we receive.”
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