Miliband puts Cameron under pressure over benefit cuts for seriously ill

Labour leader urges prime minister to meet charities to discus cuts that will hit cancer patients David Cameron was urged to meet cancer charities after he insisted he would press ahead with welfare reforms that will see thousands of seriously ill people lose up to £100 in benefits as part of a wider cost-cutting measure. Cameron appeared to be only half-aware of the proposal contained in the welfare bill, and voted through the Commons on Wednesday night, when he was challenged at prime minister’s questions by the Labour leader, Ed Miliband. Cameron accused Miliband of raising the issue as a smokescreen to justify his decision to vote against the welfare bill. Miliband hit back, saying Cameron should apologise to cancer patients for dismissing their concerns, and insisted Cameron did not seem to be aware of the detailed measure in the bill even though it has been raised for months in parliament and the media. Showing an attention to detail and more spirit than in last week’s disastrous prime minister’s questions, Miliband’s performance cheered his backbenchers and quelled mutterings about his leadership. Complex changes to eligibility for Employment Support Allowance for some groups could result in as many as 7,000 cancer patients losing up to £94 a week in sickness benefit, the Macmillan cancer charity has claimed. The government is proposing to limit to 12 months the length of time someone placed in the Employment Support Allowance work-related activity group can receive ESA without being means-tested. Anyone put into the work-related group is deemed to be fit for some work. The means testing threshold is so low that a cancer patient could lose all ESA benefit if his or her partner earns more than £7,500 per year. Critics claim the proposal means cancer victims would lose benefits a year after chemotherapy if they were deemed to be fit for work. In the Commons Miliband challenged Cameron: “When the prime minister signed off his welfare bill, did he know that it would make 7,000 cancer patients worse off by as much as £94 a week?” Miliband insisted: “These are people who have worked hard all their lives, who have done the right thing, who have paid their taxes and when they are in need, the prime minister is taking money away from them,” he said. He told Cameron to “pause, listen and reflect” on welfare plans in the same way that he had on health reforms. Cameron responded: “All we see here is a Labour party desperate not to support welfare reform and trying to find an excuse to get off supporting welfare reform.” Labour’s criticism of the bill stemmed from Miliband’s “weak leadership of a divided party”, he said. An unusually animated Miliband described the comments as “an absolute disgrace, to describe talking about cancer patients in this country as a smokescreen”. Disability groups have been lobbying on the impact of the reforms on cancer victims for months including a letter from 29 charities to the Guardian in March. On Wednesday the Disability Consortium welcomed the way in which the issue had been raised by Miliband. Liam Byrne, the shadow work and pensions secretary, urged Cameron to meet the cancer charities so he could understand their concerns: “I would urge the prime minister even at this late stage, to sit down with Macmillan, charities and campaign groups to see if we can find a way to sort this out.” In practice a climbdown is likely when the bill reaches the Lords. Overall the changes to ESA eligibility are designed to save £1.2bn annually net, with cancer patients forming a tiny part of that saving. Downing Street said the 7,000 figure cited by Macmillan was a guesstimate, and insisted the reform would go ahead, claiming there was nothing wrong in reducing benefit from someone deemed to be fit for work a year after completing chemotherapy. Labour has proposed the benefit is retained for as long as two years. Chris Grayling, the employment minister, came under pressure in a round of TV interviews when he admitted that he did not know how many cancer patients would suffer. He insisted: “The reality is we have increased the money we provide, the number of people who are going through cancer treatment who receive support from the state who receive unconditional welfare support.” “I don’t recognise the 7,000 figure. Anything in that respect is pure guesswork and estimation.” Ciarán Devane, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “We want people who have paid into the system before becoming ill to receive ESA for as long as they are unable to work. We will be very disappointed if the government fail to make these changes. “If the government wants a benefits system which is ‘fairer’ they must not penalise cancer patients.” Welfare Ed Miliband David Cameron PMQs House of Commons Cancer Health Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 15, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.