New Health and Disability Green paper published by DWP
July 26, 2021
Last week the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) published the Health and Disability Green Paper. During the past year we have been able to meet representatives of the DWP and Cabinet Office to feed in to this Green Paper and, while we are encouraged by some of the aspirations set out, we remain concerned at the inadequate level of support being offered.
The DWP says : “This green paper considers the options for addressing some of the short to medium-term issues in health and disability benefits. It will also start a discussion about the opportunities for wider change to deliver on the objectives of the health and disability benefit system. We are consulting on the following aspects of our support for people with disabilities and health conditions:
- Ways to provide more support to help meet the needs of Disabled people and people with health conditions and allow them to more easily access and use benefits and services.
- Improve employment support for Disabled people and people with health conditions, and how to encourage people to take up that support, where possible
- Short-term improvements to our current services such as improvements to assessments and decision making, to improve the experience of Disabled people.
- Changes to future assessments and alternative approaches.
- Changes that could be made to the structure of the main benefits claimed by working-age Disabled people and people with health conditions.”
Green Papers are consultation documents produced by the Government. The aim of this is to allow people both inside and outside Parliament to give the department feedback on its policy or legislative proposals.
We are reviewing the Green Paper and considering the implications it may have on people with M.E. and their carers. We will be responding to the consultation which closes on Monday 11 October and will look to engage people with M.E./CFS to inform our response.
If you would like to raise any concerns about the Green Paper, or would like to be involved in drafting our consultation response, please e-mail policy@actionforme.org.uk
