to think that IDS should go out and see how bloody hard it is!

[Dawndonna]

www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/may/14/disability-benefits-slashed-half-million?fb=native&CMP=FBCNETTXT9038

Hatred for those on benefits, particularly those on disability benefits, starts at the top and is oozing its way downwards.

I've encountered much more unpleasant behaviour towards me and my children, from those that know us in real life.

Guess what? Under universal credit because my kids get middle rate care DLA not high I will be expected to go to work. The fact I have THREE disabled kids with complex needs doesn't matter, they're not on high rate. Therefore I will have to either go to work or go on workfare. Quite who is going to meet my kids' care needs whilst I'm gone and who is going to go to their hospital appointments with them I do not know. But that doesn't matter eh?

Plus many with ASD won't even be considered disabled under new proposals.

Genuine disabled people will have nothing to fear?

I sincerely hope addicts aren't going to get benefits cut for refusing treatment. That'll be a colossal waste of money. There's just no point in someone starting it if their head isn't in the right place to do it. many of us have learned the hard way that you can't force an addict to get better unless and until they truly want to. So forcing them won't work.

Which might not be so bad, except that addiction treatment is expensive, I suspect much of it costs a great deal more than even the highest rate of ESA (and considering how rare that is, most addicts wouldn't be on it anyway, they'd be on the lower rate which is less than £100 a week, or would be on JSA at £71). We'll end up taking money from benefits with one hand, then giving loads more for treatment with the other. As a taxpayer, I'd have no problem with doing that if it worked. As the child of an addict, I know it won't. So let's hope it's just bluster, either from IDS or the Guardian.

Plus many with ASD won't even be considered disabled under new proposals.

Scary stuff :(.

looktoshinfield as a matter of fact, it started under the Major Government, who introduced tough new incapacity tests to determine whether claims were fraudulent or not.
IDS is simply carrying on the work of the last Conservative Government where it left off - they and the Tory press have been pushing the Benefit Scroungers label for a very long time now.

They didnt fill the form in correctly Voidka. It has nothing to do with assessing him capable for work as clearly he isnt.

No Tanith, it was introduced by Labour.

I'd love to see them try to assess my ds. His psychiatrist went to see him and he attacked her.

And what Tanith said.

i think its good if it weeds out cheats. there used to be a view (not sure if its still the case) where my husband was brought up that if you didn't want to go to work you went on disability benefit. they suggested it to me when i didn't want to go back to work after maternity leave

DLA is not an out of work benefit. So many people are ignorant to that fact and lump it together with Incapacity Benefit, which the government love!

vaga - so if you are out of work and disabled, do you get incapacity benefit and DLA?

Well IB is now ESA.

DLA is awarded and is not means tested, so you can earn a million a year and still qualify for DLA. DLA is paid to cover some of the extra costs people who have disabilities incur.

ESA is an out of work benefit. You can only get it if you are not working.

I think if you just take most headlines at face value things can be read into them. Personally i agree with the sentiment that there are some disabled people who should / could be in work rather than on benefits. Why does, for example, not having a leg stop you from using your brain? I know a couple of disabled people in my company doing 'normal' jobs that abled bodied people do and why the hell not? They are smart, educated, hard working just like everyone else, why on earth would they be better on a life of benefits?
Genuine disabled claimants i dont believe should worry

vaga so can you get both ESA and DLA? Is DLA the scheme whereby you get a car allowance? And does this cover retired people as well as working people? Its so complicated.

You can get both ESA and DLA, or just one of them. You don't get a car allowance as such with DLA, but some mobility DLA recipients can use the money for a motability vehicle. DLA is separated into two categories: care and mobility. This is because it's quite possible for a person eg to have Down's Syndrome and be fit enough to walk six miles whilst being unable to look after themself at all. Such a person would be entitled to care but not mobility. Or to be unable to walk but mentally fine and well able to earn a good living and run a home. Such a person would be entitled to mobility but not care. WHmumoftwo the person in my latter example is like the people in your company and they wouldn't be on ESA (new incapacity benefit).

As for the belief that genuine disabled claimants shouldn't worry, if only that were the case. I wish you were right, but those of us who work in the advice sector will unfortunately know different.

If you're a pensioner you can get attendance allowance instead of DLA.

www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Disabledpeople/DG_10018710

so if DLA isn't means tested, why don't all the pensioners who struggle to walk get motability vehicles? My mother would have been in this category.

You can only get DLA if you claim before your 65th birthday. Otherwise you can claim Attendance Allowance which doesnt have a mobility element.

looktoshinford Wed 23-May-12 09:44:26

"As a country we are now 30% more disabled than a decade ago."

Pre-term babies more likely to survive, care homes and special schools have closed down leaving parents responsible for disabled children.

"And why is it that we are more likely to be disabled if we live in an area where there are fewer jobs?"

Could it possible be because disabled people and their carers are more likely to be poor and hence less able to move to an affluent area? Just a thought.

wfhmumoftwo Wed 23-May-12 14:31:25

"I know a couple of disabled people in my company doing 'normal' jobs that abled bodied people do and why the hell not? They are smart, educated, hard working just like everyone else, why on earth would they be better on a life of benefits?"

And most likely they are enabled to do so by receiving DLA. If their disability is severe enough, that is.

vega - that seems a bit illogical doesn't it? you could have 2 people with very similar issues but one gets mobility allowance and another not, because physical issues started 2 weeks before or after 65th birthday?

I dont make the rules - if I did I can tell you it would be a hell of a lot different!

DS1 has been given a lifetime award - it is quite apparent to everyone that looks after him that will need 24 hour care for his whole life.

Of course we could waste money reassessing him every 3 years to find that ooh no whoops no miracle yet.

In terms of mobility - I AM pleased to see that PIP will apparently clearly include a test of mental capacity (which is why ds1 qualifies for HRM DLA, rather than any physical dusability).