After a 50 percent increase in Disability Living Allowance (DLA) payments in the last eight years, the U.K. government is set to cut spending by 20 percent in an effort to reduce welfare costs, reports The Guardian. The DLA benefit subsidizes the cost of personal care and mobility assistance for the 1.8 million people living with disabilities in the United Kingdom. However, the government is currently conducting consultations to determine who will be eligible to continue receiving this funding.
The proposed reductions will affect more than 800,000 people—many who have posted articles and blog entries in protest. At stake for many with disabilities is the ability to get to work and earn the wages needed to support themselves. They will also lose the ability to participate in leisure activities, such as shopping, going to the movies or visiting with friends—activities many are currently able to enjoy with DLA assistance. “When I am not able to live independently then there’s nothing to live for,” says Ella Findlay, a 31-year-old who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis as a teenager. “I don’t want to be in (the) position where I cannot do things for myself.”
This article was featured in the February 16, 2011 issue of Diversity Best Practices’ email newsletter, Diversity in the News. To read additional stories from that issue, see the related content section below. To subscribe to Diversity in the News, register on the newsletter page of this website.
