Petition Stop Clause 52

While the government's proposition to limit contributory ESA to one year for those assessed as capable of 'work-related activity' has attracted much controversy, another proposed aspect of the Welfare Reform Bill that is just as contentious has been largely overlooked.

Clause 52 abolishes ESA in youth. Basically this removes the automatic right of children with congenital or early-onset disabilities (around 327,000 of whom are currently on DLA) to access contributory ESA when they reach working age - whether or not they are deemed capable of ‘work-related activity’. Effectively this robs more severely disabled children of opportunities to live independently as adults with carers and rely wholly on their families instead for income.

We ask the government to consider their duty of care to these families and drop Clause 52 from the Welfare Reform Bill.