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Find out about our successes and the difference the campaign has made.
Government has confirmed changes to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), the key out of work benefit for people with a disability or illness. The changes will see more cancer patients who are awaiting, receiving, and recovering from treatment, receive support without having to undergo a medical assessment or attend back to work interviews. Currently, benefit rules distinguish between patients who receive non-oral chemotherapy and other forms of treatment. However, the latest changes mean that all chemotherapy and radiotherapy patients will be treated in the same way when applying for ESA. Read Macmillan's response here|
This announcement followed a government consultation which Macmillan responded to. Read our response [PDF, 160 Kb] | We also got together with 11 other cancer charities to write this letter [PDF, 58Kb]| to the Employment Minister, Chris Grayling MP about the Work Capability Assessment.
|A House of Lords amendment to the Welfare Reform Bill exempting cancer patients from plans to time limit ESA was rejected by MPs on 1 February. Read our response to the vote here.|
MPs voted in favour of a time limit for cancer patients despite evidence from a poll commissioned by Macmillan| which revealed overwhelming public opposition to the idea.
Despite this setback we are continuing our campaign against time limiting.
News that the government has agreed to cut the time cancer patients have to wait to qualify for Personal Independence Payments (PIPs) from 6 to 3 months, has been warmly welcomed by Macmillan.
The government’s change of heart came during the report stage of the Welfare Reform Bill in the House of Lords in January.
Read our reaction.|
At the report stage of the Welfare Reform Bill on Wednesday 11 January, the House of Lords backed an amendment by Lord Patel, to exempt cancer patients from plans to time limit Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). We strongly supported Lord Patel’s amendment.
Read our reaction to the vote. |
We will be working hard to persuade MPs to support the amendment when the Bill returns to the House of Commons in February.
Crucial amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill were debated in the House of Lords on Tuesday 8 November.
The amendments discussed support our campaign against plans to take away a person’s Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) after just one year. Lord Patel tabled an amendment to the Bill opposing the one year time limit.
Macmillan’s other concerns about the impact of the Bill on people with cancer were discussed at length by a number of other Lords during the debate.
Read Macmillan’s Second Reading Briefing for Lords| (PDF, 100kb)
The progress of a Bill through Parliament can be confusing. Find out about the steps involved on the Parliament website.|
On Saturday 17 September, the party voted in favour of opposing the Government’s plans to take away a person’s Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) after just one year, under the Welfare Reform Bill.
This is great news. The result means that we have an even greater chance of changing the Bill as it progresses to the House of Lords.
Read what Macmillan's CEO has to say on Welfare Reform here.|
On Tuesday 13 September, the Bill was debated in the Lords for the first time. Our campaign and the impact that some of the proposed changes could have on people affected by cancer were talked about extensively.
Read Macmillan's Second Reading Briefing for Peers| (PDF, 176kb).
The briefing tells peers what Macmillan thinks about the Bill so that they can speak up on behalf of people affected by cancer during the debate.
The second reading of the Welfare Reform Bill was delayed until Tuesday 13 September. Read Macmillan’s original Second Reading Briefing for Peers| (PDF, 171kb).
Following Committee Stage, the Bill moved to Report Stage in the House of Commons where all MPs had two days to consider the details of the Bill.
Macmillan worked with MPs from the three main political parties to ensure that our concerns were raised again.
On the first day of Report Stage, MPs ran out of time to debate the Bill which meant our concerns around ESA were not discussed.
However, our hard work was not wasted. Ed Miliband, leader of the opposition, raised our points at Prime Minister’s Questions. He highlighted the negative impact that time-limiting contributory based ESA could have on people living with cancer.
The following day MPs discussed extending the qualifying period for PIP, which will replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA). The qualifying period is the length of time someone has to wait before they are able to apply for PIP.
Macmillan argues that people with cancer already struggle to cope with the current three month qualifying time, and extending it to six months could be disastrous for many.
While Ministers expressed their willingness to listen to our concerns, a proposed change to the Bill which would have retained the current qualifying period was rejected.
Immediately after the Report Stage concluded, the Bill had its Third Reading. Again discussion returned to Macmillan’s campaign against time-limiting ESA. The Bill has now completed its passage through the House of Commons and will move to the House of Lords.
Read our press release|.
Following the Bill's second reading, 26 MPs were invited to form a government committee and take a closer look at the Welfare Reform Bill. With the help of our campaigners and Macmillan welfare rights advisers, we made sure these MPs debated our issues and gave serious consideration to our concerns. Here's what happened:
We're delighted the Minister for Employment has agreed to implement recommendations, which will be made following an independent review into ESA. We are working closely with the review to influence its recommendations around patients receiving oral chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs challenged the government's plan to limit the amount of time people can claim ESA. The government stated that this change was necessary because it would save significant amounts of money.
Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs asked the government to reconsider its plans to make people wait six months before receiving DLA. The government maintained that six months was an acceptable amount of time for people with a long term condition to wait.
There is still work to do to make sure the welfare system doesn't let people with cancer down. However, the Minister's comments during committee stage have helped us to strengthen our arguments. We're now looking to secure more support as the Bill progresses to Report Stage. This will provide all MPs with the the opportunity to propose and vote on changes to the Bill.
The government debated the welfare reform proposals in Parliament on 9 March for the first time. Thanks to over 2,200 campaigners writing to over 80% of MPs, 13 Members of Parliament spoke out against benefit cuts for people with cancer.
Find out what MPs said in the debate here.|
Read our letter to the government.|
Pictured below: The charities fighting for a fairer benefits system with us.
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Find out more about the campaign.|