Lords back disability benefit shake-up

The government has headed off a House of Lords defeat over plans to replace the Disability Living Allowance.

Ministers want to amend the system to make sure claimants have undergo more testing, but opponents say this will mean 500,000 people will lose benefits.

Some peers had wanted to delay plans to replace the Disability Living Allowance with the new Personal Independence Payment.

Crossbench peer, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, an 11-time Paralympic gold medal-winner, has said that disabled people fear being "ghettoised and locked away from society" under the proposals.