The government will ensure that the Personal Independence Payment, being introduced to replace Disability Living Allowance, will protect the most vulnerable, peers have been told.

During question time on 10 March 2011, Work and Pensions Minister Lord Freud said one of the things the government wanted to get “absolutely right” when designing the new scheme was “how we look after the most vulnerable”.

His comments came during an exchange with Conservative peer Baroness Browning, who asked the minister what impact the changes would have on people with autism.

Under the government’s plans, instead of some disabilities leading to a guaranteed entitlement, claimants will have to go through regular assessments on how their condition affects them.

Lord Freud told peers: “The default position is that we would like to see people face to face, but where that is not realistic, helpful or appropriate we will not be doing so. We will also encourage people, autistic people as well as others, to bring a carer, a family member or a professional with them so that we get the best evidence-based result that we possibly can.”

But Baroness Browning drew attention to autism as a “communication disorder” and warned that those who cannot get a familiar professional carer to accompany them to an assessment interview “will not turn up at all and so will lose the benefit upon which they rely”.

Labour’s Baroness Pitkeathley reminded the government that the Autism Bill placed an obligation on local authorities to ensure there were enough services for autism sufferers and their carers in their area, and questioned what impact local authority budget cuts would have on this.

The minister recognised that “even in times of restraint local authorities have an obligation to look after this group of people”.

Peers also questioned the government on prostitution, anti-Semitic incidents and payments to Libyan employees or officials in recent weeks.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_lords/newsid_9419000/9419655.stm