I have been given permission to reproduce this article that was  on  http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/latest-news/1086-dla-and-aa-to-be-abolished

DLA and AA to be abolished
10 July 2009

The government is about to announce plans to scrap DLA and AA according to a report in the Guardian.

Building being demolishedThe newspaper claims that a green paper was due out in June which proposes to convert DLA and AA into means tested ‘social care grants’ which would be spent by social services.  However, the incoming DWP minister Yvette Cooper wanted some breathing space before launching the controversial new proposal.

Under the plans, DLA and AA would be scrapped, with the money saved being handed over to local authorities to administer as discretionary grants to provide care for the sick and disabled.  The grants would be means-tested and the local authority would decide what they could be spent on.  This would be likely to be for services such as a personal assistant to help with getting out of bed, washing and dressing.

The government has claimed that any changes to DLA and AA will not affect current claimants.  However, such claims will be treated with enormous scepticism by claimants who have witnessed the spin and misrepresentation which surrounded the introduction of employment and support allowance.  For example, the DWP said that ESA would be paid at the same rate as incapacity benefit, but in reality it is paid at a lower rate.  They also claimed that around 10% of claimants would be placed in the higher paying support group, but the real number seems likely to be less than half of that.

Benefits and Work will keep readers informed as more  information becomes available.

This story was also in reported in the Guardian this week.

The consensus of opinion is that it will not happen, after all this would cause hardship for people who are disabled, it could also be considered as discrimination if people with disability were not allowed to use their benefits in whatever way they choose. After all would we see the able bodied being told how they could spend their job seekers allowance?