Universal Credit (Exceptions to the Requirement not to be receiving Education) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 — House of Lords, 2021-12-13
Topic: Social Welfare
Barbara Janke (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): My Lords, we have heard from noble Lords today that a great injustice is about to be perpetrated on young people with disabilities. As we have heard, many young people still in education will be ineligible for universal credit unless they have had a work assessment and been assessed as having limited capability for work "before they started receiving education" The noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, has explained the background to this sad state of affairs. Disability Rights says: "The new regulations are really bad news for disabled students … Unfortunately they put a legal stamp on what has been the actual operational practice of the DWP that places them in a Catch 22 position." The position has been to reject a universal credit claim made by a full-time disabled student who was not previously in receipt of educational support allowance "on the grounds that they have not been determined to have a LCW", or limited capability for work, and then for "the Universal Credit section to refuse to arrange a work capability assessment to determine if they have a LCW … Even though they may clearly meet the Universal Credit means test if found to have a LCW." As the noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, explained, the way round this is for the disabled student to make a claim for contribution based on new-style ESA, for which they will not meet the national insurance contributions entitlement conditions, having not been in employment and therefore not contributing Despite this, the student will get a work capability assessment but, as Disability Rights explains only "if a LCW decision is made can any means tested Universal Credit entitlement be awarded." It continues: "This torturous route is absurd. Worse, it undoubtedly has the effect of deterring Universal Credit claims by some disabled students. Some will not know to claim NSESA ‘workaround’ … and some may even not pursue their higher education course." This is a significant change from the previous system in which disabled people in receipt of disability living allowance or personal independence payments were automatically determined as having limited capability for work Furthermore, as others have said, these new regulations were not subject to review by the Social Security Advisory Committee or any equality impact assessment before being issued. As Disability Rights notes, they "cast doubt on the Government’s commitment to ensure disabled people’s access to education. In addition, they will in turn cast doubt as to the Government’s commitment to increase the number of disabled people in employment." It is worth reminding ourselves of extracts from Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper, in which the Government say: "Our first priority is to support disabled people and people with health conditions to live independently and achieve their potential. This means that people should be provided with the right amount of financial support, given the opportunity to make their own choices, have equal access to services, be supported to access healthcare and treatment, and be able to participate in society on the same basis as other people." How can these new regulations support these objectives and why were they not scrutinised by the Social Security Advisory Committee? Why was no equalities impact assessment carried out? I hope the Minister can help us with answers to these questions This change will severely affect disabled young people who reach the age of 19 before finishing non-advanced education and those continuing to higher education. Many young people with impairments will take much longer to finish their full-time education and will be forced to make an impossible choice between trying to continue without access to the benefits they need or dropping out of education and losing out on future employment opportunities. The reality is that these regulations will force young disabled people who cannot continue their education without financial support to drop out. This also affects families and care givers, as their care responsibilities increase if the disabled young person they care for is not in education As many noble Lords have said, this measure is unfair and unjust, and it severely restricts the life chances for young people with disabilities. I hope, although I am not confident, that the Government will think again. We need to give a fair deal to young disabled people who only want the chance to achieve their potential, as the Government say, with the right amount of financial support, as the Government say, and to participate in society on the same basis as other people—as the Government say. I am not confident, but I hope the House will support this Motion.