The UK government is undertaking a programme of major welfare reform. Many of the changes to the benefits system will affect people living with HIV.
NAT are actively campaigning around major changes to benefits contained in the Welfare Reform Bill, currently before Parliament. We are calling for a benefits system which supports those who are able to work, and those who are not.
NAT is a member of the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC), a national coalition of over 40 different charities and other organisations committed to working towards a fair benefits system.
If you are living with HIV and want to find out more about benefits and how welfare reform may affect you, visit the Life with HIV website.
Incapacity Benefit and Employment and Support Allowance
There have been changes to the benefits system for people living with HIV who are unable to work. In the past, people who were unable to work could apply for incapacity benefit. For new claimants, incapacity benefit has been replaced by Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). For claimants already on Incapacity Benefit, the Government plans to move people on to the ESA between April 2011 and 2014. NAT have developed a Q&A fact sheet on this migration.
The Work Capability Assessment
Eligibility for ESA is decided using the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). This involves an interview and in many cases an assessment with an independent healthcare professional. The assessor runs through a list of questions or ‘descriptors’ about the nature of the claimant’s impairment or health condition and makes a recommendation about whether they are eligible for ESA, or are ‘fit for work’.
NAT had some concerns about the possible impact of the WCA for people living with HIV. We undertook some research about the WCA in conjunction with HIV service providers Citizens Advice Bureau (Camden), George House Trust, Positive East and Terrence Higgins Trust (Brighton & Hove). Our report, Unseen Disabilities, Unmet Needs details the findings of this research. We found that the barriers to work experienced by people living with HIV, such as severe immune deficiency, side-effects of treatment, depression, pain and fatigue are not fully taken into account by the WCA.
NAT also used these findings in our submission to the first independent review on the WCA, chaired by Professor Malcolm Harrington, an expert on occupational health. Many of the issues we raised were reflected in the findings of the Harrington review, and NAT’s submission was quoted in the report.
Following our submission to the Harrington Review, NAT was invited to join a working group on fluctuating conditions and the WCA. The group, chaired by MS Society, was asked to make recommendations for how the WCA could be modified to better reflect the work-related barriers caused by complex and fluctuating conditions, such as HIV. To inform our recommendations, NAT conducted a survey of people who experienced Fluctuating Symptoms of HIV.
The group’s recommendations on fluctuating conditions and the WCA will be considered by Professor Harrington in the summer.
Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment
More than 10% of people accessing HIV treatment in the UK claim Disability Living Allowance (DLA), to help with the extra costs associated with living with a disability.
DLA Reform
With the Welfare Reform Bill, currently before parliament, the government proposes to replace DLA with a new payment called Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Like DLA, it will consist of two components: the ‘mobility’ component; and the ‘daily living’ component, which will replace the ‘care’ component currently paid.
There will also be a new assessment, which will involve in most cases a face-to-face meeting with an independent healthcare professional. The Government is currently developing the assessment and we are working to ensure that the needs of people living with HIV are considered.
PIP will come into effect from 2013/14. All new claimants will be assessed under the new system, and there will also be a programme of reassessment of existing DLA claimants for the new benefit. We have put together a PIP factsheet for people living with HIV who may need to claim the new benefit.
Universal Credit
The Welfare Reform Bill sets out a programme of major reform of the benefits system from 2013. At the centre of the new system is a Universal Credit, which will replace a range of existing in-work and out-of-work benefits including income support, (income-based) Employment and Support Allowance, (income-based) Jobseekers Allowance, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit, and Working Tax Credit. Disability Living Allowance will remain separate from the Universal Credit.
The Universal Credit is designed to simplify benefits payments. Payments will reduce at a steady rate, known as the ‘taper’, as claimants move into work. This means that benefits will not suddenly drop off once someone starts working a certain number of hours. This is intended to make it easier to take on work as it is available, without losing benefits entirely. .
The proposals also include a revised regime of conditionality for all benefits, as well as new sanctions where conditionality is not met. These will come into effect prior to the universal credit, and will apply to some recipients of ESA (work-related activity group) and JSA. NAT will continue to monitor announcements about this system, including when it will come into effect.
To share your thoughts and experiences regarding HIV and benefit reform, please contact policyandcampaigns@nat.org.uk. If you are living with HIV and have concerns about benefit reform then we would particularly like to hear from you.