to think that the disabled are baring the brunt of the cuts.

[carernotasaint]

70,000 disabled people will lose their contributions based ESA from today. If their partner earns more than 7500 a year they wont qualify for income based either. One couple on in this article will be faced with living on 10,000 a year.
Thats 2 grand less than what i was earning 10 years ago.
Awful. No one asks to be ill or disabled.www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/apr/29/sickness-benefit-cuts

I used to live in the UK and I now live in Canada. I was always proud that the UK treated disabled people with a little more understanding than most other countries. I hope people in the UK can stand the thought of seeing disabled people begging on the streets, because that is what happens here.

yanbu
sadly people just don't seem to care enough.
it won't just be people on ESA that will be affected.
services are being cut so badly that families are going to fall apart

Regardless of economic downturns and upturns, the disadvantaged and the poor always suffer disproportionately in comparison with their better off neighbours.

YANBU, there are cuts to income and services. I am fed up with hearing that my son is "on a waiting list" to see this or that person but will never reach the top because services have been cut to the bone.

Of course the rich have faced cuts too......tax cuts. I hate this bloody Govt with all my soul.

What is the total expected 'saving' from this?

And how can that be raised/saved elsewhere?

I'm not asking to be incendiary, but unless you think we can keep on overspending, then we need an alternative agenda for cuts. And if an alternative to these is urgently needed, what could it be?

Gideon NOT giving tax cuts to his rich buddies would be a start EdithWeston, I agee that savings have to come from somewhere but when they are consistantly falling on the weakest and poorest in society I start to froth round the edges.

I hope people in the UK can stand the thought of seeing disabled people begging on the streets, because that is what happens here.

Well, we've been here before, haven't we? :( Remember "care in the community" under the last Tory government? I used to volunteer at a shelter for the homeless, and was horrified by the number of "clients" with serious mental health issues.

Same old Tories. Bastards.

It's a sad fact that the rich have got richer this year whilst the poor have got poorer. Yet we still are managing to have two huge great big 'parties' this year primarily funded from the public purse - olympics & jubilee, funny I don't feel like celebrating.
I don't completely blame the Tories for the countries current position but they are doing a good job of nailing the lid on the coffin whilst helping those at the top and thumbing their noses at the rest.
Supporting the most vulnerable in society marks out countries as civilised - ESA was a benefit that for many helped disabled people work, earn a wage and contribute to society. It is a fact that it is often harder to do this if you are disabled as there are often additional costs involved (transport, equipment) or an inability to work full time or other considerations but by taking away these benefits we are making false savings as we make people completely reliant on others rather than giving them an ability to help themselves.

consultants in the public sector are on £35K, £45K, £85K a year. Do we really need these consultants? Why not cut them instead of benefits for disabled?

yanbu and gategipsy has good idea

My mum was just saying yesterday that my Dad's pension has increased by £5 a week and the tories are hailing this as a beacon of their wonderfulness. What they conveiniently forget to mention is that his pension tax credits have been cut by £4.90 and his care package has gone up by £35.

I warn you not to be ordinary. I warn you not to be young. I warn you not to fall ill. I warn you not to get old.

And history repeats itself. :(

YANBU

The Tories' austerity agenda has put us back into a recession.

It's pain with no gain.

Well, except from wealthy Tory donors getting tax cuts and public money diverted their way.

YANBU.

Its everywhere - benefits, Health services, Local Authority services, school funding, care funding, respite.

The only party to have a worse idea for how to treat disabled adults and children are UKIP.

I am particularly shocked by the threshold of a partner earning £7,500 for cutting off benefits - do they really think that's enough to live on and support a disabled partner?

I read a very sad article by a disabled woman saying she was resigned to never having a partner now as anyone wanting to settle down with her would have to take on the responsibility for paying for her - at least by staying single she could keep her benefits & her dignity. So very sad.

It will be much worse then Care in the Community was - at least then there was money around to develop some new services, so although some people slipped through the net, the most severely disabled/mental health issues did get services.

Now, those services are all being closed, and whole teams in health and social services(I work alongside one) that support the very vulenrable are being made redundant . Dedicated people earning the princely 18 - 20k a year. Never mind, all the NHS directors are getting bonuses.

I remember a poster commenting once that the problem with cuts to public services is you can't cut one service without having an impact on another.

What worries me is that if the current plans for cuts doesn't work where does that leave the country?

yep my sons splints are cutting into him .cant walk without them ,Emergency appoinment 16 week wait and then cast for new ones and e another 12 week wait till can pick them up

Marshmellow same here im pretty resigned to fact im going to stay single and a single parent becuase of teh changes

here they are cutting and reviewing transport .My sons unit is quite a distance away but we have trnasport .The nearer one said they was not right place for him( i agreed )

Yet have been told that they will review transport and that he may be bette rplaced in a more local school .yet his unit are not in support of that

:( @ TheHumanCatapault, I'm so sorry.

YANBU, but I don't think it's only the disabled that are bearing the brunt of this. Those who need more obviously have the most to lose, but I think the cuts are effecting everyone that needs any form of healthcare. And beyond that, everyone I know is being affected by the rising cost of living while wages are staying the same or jobs are being lost altogether. It's crap. I understand next to nothing about economics, but it seems to make sense that if people don't have money to spend on anything other than the basics,then the economy can never recover.

TheHumanCatapault that is awful :( why is the most valnuable always effected.

Well the big cuts to DLA should be saving bugger all because DLA had the lowest rate of fraud of any benefit. It will however be saving bucket loads because of the number of people unfit for work being declared fit.

I suppose the appeals must be costing a lot, but they'll probably be massaged out of the figures.

YANBU, it is truly shit.

Pat's petition is here epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/20968

"Stop and review the cuts to benefits and services which are falling disproportionately on disabled people, their carers and families"