THE PARAPLEGICS PLIGHT

The UK government are facing an economic crisis, so they are looking for ways to cut government spending. Do away with the mammoth spending on the military? Cut down on cabinet ministers generous allowances? None of these - they have thought of a much better cash-saving dodge. "Four in 10 disabled young people in England are living in poverty, amounting to a "staggering" 320,000 children. And the figure will rise because of government cuts to welfare payments, according to a report by The Children's Society. The charity's analysis looks for the first time at the additional costs of caring for a child who might be paraplegic, infirm or seriously physically incapacitated, and concludes that the official poverty rates understate the number of disabled children in penury by a total of 32,000. Counting on the basis of a disabled child living in a household with a disabled adult, the figure for those existing in poverty rose to 49%. The Children's Society says that benefit changes in the controversial welfare reform bill, now being considered in the House of Lords, will cause the component of child tax-credit to drop from £54 to £27 a week." (Guardian, 7 October) RD