28 June 2010

Iain Duncan Smith suggests disabled people are to blame for planned cuts to Disability Living Allowance.

What: Duncan Smith, who has been appointed as the coalition’s work and pensions secretary, tells MPs that spending on DLA has, in the previous decade, “spiralled out of control, and the system has been vulnerable to error, abuse and, in some cases, outright fraud” and that “we need to make sure, for the taxpayer, that the money is paid to those who desperately need it”.

Why significant: Ministers would repeatedly stress that they would always protect “the most vulnerable”, framing assessment as key to determining who is truly needy and therefore providing cover for aggressive cuts.