Fife trades groups rally against cuts
December 14, 2010
Campaigners against cuts to public services joined forces for a rally in Kirkcaldy town square on Saturday.
The trades council has claimed public spending cuts will devastate services and result in as many as a quarter of public sector workers being made redundant.
Groups including the Campaign Against Charges and Cuts (CACC) and Right To Work were among those attending, along with disability rights campaigner Susan Archibald and Labour‘s disability officer for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, Peter Lockhart.
Mr Lockhart, who uses a wheelchair, said proposed changes to disability living allowance could severely affect people like himself.
“This is a vital benefit being taken away from disabled people,” he said.
“There will be stringent tests. If someone gets a prosthetic limb that allows them to walk, they will stop getting DLA.
“They are going to start looking at wheelchairs. If you can get about in a wheelchair, that would stop you getting DLA.”
He added, “The government is saying it’s being abused by fraud but, in the Department for Work and Pensions‘ (DWP) own figures, fraud accounts for only 0.5% of claims.”
Ms Archibald, a member of the DWP’s equality reference group, said the seeds for benefit cuts were sown by Labour.
More information at The Courier
