"500,000 could lose their disability benefits Iain Duncan Smith to press ahead with plans to cut disability claimants.
By Samira Shackle Published 14 May 2012 9:31 . People protest against cuts to disability allowances, London, May 2011. Photograph: Getty Images Half a million people could lose their disability benefits under government plans. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph today, Iain Duncan Smith says he will press ahead with radical reforms of the disability living allowance (DLA) that could slash the bill by £2.24bn annually.
The DLA is not a means-tested benefit, so it is paid to those in employment as well as those unable to work. Intended to help people meet the extra costs of mobility and care associated with their conditions, it now costs more than unemployment benefits and will soon cost £13bn per year. Under these reforms, Duncan Smith says that even those who have lost limbs will not necessarily qualify:.................."
