to wonder why Rishi Sunack hates the disabled?

[drinkingcherrywine]

I am just not sure I can feel any worse right now about how the U.K. is treating its most vulnerable but tomorrow may tip me over the edge. We have had what little societal, health and charitable support there was swept from under us during the pandemic, costs of living have gone up massively (especially for shielding), medical care a distant memory, rent evictions are underway, it gets worse every day.

The government has increased the standard allowance in Universal Credit and the basic element in Working Tax Credit for one year. Both have increased by £20 per week on top of planned annual uprating. This applies to all new and existing Universal Credit claimants and to existing Working Tax Credit claimants.

So no uplift for carer parents of disabled children claiming child tax credit. Or anyone on legacy benefits who will be worse off on UC (majority disabled). If you are a shielding adult you will be vaccinated soon hopefully but will still be told to continue shielding. If you are a shielding child no vaccination for you, stay in for however long we say, could be another year could be longer - no one cares, you are invisible and shall remain ignored.

Shielding means staying in so expensive due to;
no budget groceries via yellow stickers, end of day reduced etc
no going to library to use computer/ask for help
no going to friends/family/public buildings to reduce home heat/electric/food budget
no going to visit offices who won't answer the phone drs/ council/utilities/citizens advice etc
no taxis/public transport
no sharing childcare favours
no organised affordable group trips

Some of this list was all that kept people going before. Life is more restrictive and much much expensive in many more ways for shielding. The assumed 'local' help that keeps being touted as a fix all simply isn't in existence sufficient to bridge the growing chasm.

www.swlondoner.co.uk/life/25022021-disabled-legacy-benefits-claimants-struggling-with-pandemic-poverty/

If you aren't working due to disability you aren't worth it right?

And no being a ft carer and saving society a fortune in caring obligation doesn't count. Being unable to find a job that flexes to include disability or being too unwell to manage paid employment doesn't count.

If you aren't working due to disability then you aren't part of society. No thousand pound uplift so no worries about uplift continuation. As long as everyone understands the disabled's place in our billionaire budget maker's societal hierarchy, right Rishi?

www.jrf.org.uk/blog/20-weekly-uplift-must-be-extended-legacy-benefits

It cannot be right that some of the most at-risk members of our society have not been thrown the same lifeline as those on Universal Credit. It would be operationally simple to extend the £20 uplift to legacy benefits as part of the usual annual uprating decision later this month. The Government has an opportunity to right this injustice, strengthen social security and help many families stay afloat in these turbulent times. This would send a clear signal that they are committed to supporting everyone in our society.

www.z2k.org/latest/why-the-20-uplift-in-universal-credit-must-be-extended-to-those-on-legacy-benefits/

We want to see the 2.2 million ‘legacy benefit’ claimants get the extra £20 a week too. For us, it still beggars belief that the Government thought it was right to give the increase to one kind of claimant, but deny it to others, especially when you realise that three-quarters of those 2.2 legacy benefit claimants are disabled people on Employment Support Allowance.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/100-groups-demand-20-benefits-23025818

@Maverickess

I'd like to ask a question of those of you that are in the situation of needing to claim, prompted by the mention of a gp letter upthread.

I've heard that no medical records are used in assessing people, is that true? Because it seems utterly crackers to me that medical professionals opinions on someone's health condition they're treating is not taken into account.

That is true. The claimant can provide letters from GPs consultants etc in support of their claim , but actual medical records are not looked at and DWP does not contact medical professionals etc.

@dontdisturbmenow

Why are we expected to assume, when such discussions, that every disabled person is in the same situation?

There are families of disabled people who struggle whilst others are better off than if they were working.

My colleague who was a lawyer and had to give up her job to care for her twins with cerebral palsy is finding herself much worse.

My other friend who was a sahm to two kids by choice finds herself much better off with her third child who has mild autism, and now claims CA and associated benefits.

Just like workers, some will be worse off, some better off.

What if your friend wants to go back to work? She would find it very difficult with caring responsibilities. She now has her life choices limited even if she has slightly more money in the short term. It is very difficult to get childcare for kids with special needs and the long term stress of caring often takes a high long term health toll.

I absolutely take your point. However, UC was paltry - particularly for single people. I think it's a lot lower than PIP and other legacy benefits, no? Sorry, I'm not an expert.
I also agree that staying home and not accessing services is more expensive for disabled people. I hope you are heard. 💐

I've heard that no medical records are used in assessing people, is that true?

Not quite. But you are responsible for collating and submitting any medical evidence you need. Don't expect anyone to just "know it". (This is why so many people fail to be awarded anything first time around).

I have 20+ years worth of DWs notes (ask every consultant to copy you in on letters to GPs for a start). All scanned in and indexed in a spreadsheet. When it was time for ESA and PIP (over 50 pages) were added as appendices with a cross reference in the appropriate section. Some sections had multiple entries that led back to letters stating DW has bladder issues (for example) which explained why that section had that score.

You then print that off with a header saying "Page x of y" (in case they "lose" a page) and DWs name and NI number on every page. For the PIP form I had to recreate the QR code.

Send 2 copies - one to the address they tell you, the other to the decision maker.

Usually this is enough to get them to pick on the next applicant.

It was surprising that carers were not appreciated more with Cameron as pm, he had a severely disabled son who sadly passed away. You would think he had a good understanding of the issues carers face

@vickibee

It was surprising that carers were not appreciated more with Cameron as pm, he had a severely disabled son who sadly passed away. You would think he had a good understanding of the issues carers face

Understanding does not translate into caring.

I would have thought that was obvious when all politicians insist they "understand" a problem, and then you realise fuck all has been done about it for 100 years.

This is a horrible thread and YABU

@roarfeckingroarr

This is a horrible thread and YABU

Why is it a horrible thread - the Tories have systematically made life much harder for disabled people. That is an undeniable truth.

I can believe the poll is so evenly split.

Oh actually I can.

100% YANBU

If it wasn't for the horrible attitudes towards disabled people there would be no need for this thread.

@roarfeckingroarr

This is a horrible thread and YABU

It is a horrible thread, that is correct. Horrible that it is needed, horrible that the natural societal understanding of disability, the basic empathic nature of humanity, has been so warped by the politicians in charge that it is acceptable to treat the most vulnerable in the UK as "other".

As to my unreasonableness, unless stated otherwise I must presume (as has usually been ime) you wish we would all get back in our boxes and be silent if we are not popping up to express our eternal gratitude for the crumbs cast our way...feel free to set me right!

@roarfeckingroarr

This is a horrible thread and YABU

Not as horrible as DW being given abortion advice when she found out she was pregnant, because "Well, disabled women can't become mothers easily".

Not as horrible as DS never being invited to a party, never being asked to play, and having absolutely no one show up to his birthday party because parents seem to act like disability might be catching.

@roarfeckingroarr

This is a horrible thread and YABU

Yes it is horrible to read and see how disabled people are treated and not valued by the Government, and a large section of society.

www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2021/03/03/rishi-sunak-just-deprived-over-a-million-disabled-people-of-their-basic-rights/

Rishi Sunak just showed his contempt for sick and disabled people. Because his Budget contained no extra support for countless numbers of them. And overall, Sunak may have deprived over one million sick and disabled people of some of their most basic needs.

Neil Kinnock 1983
“ 'I warn you. I warn you that you will have pain – when healing and relief depend upon payment. I warn you that you will have ignorance – when talents are untended and wits are wasted, when learning is a privilege and not a right. I warn you that you will have poverty – when pensions slip and benefits are whittled away by a government that won’t pay in an economy that can't pay. I warn you that you will be cold – when fuel charges are used as a tax system that the rich don't notice and the poor can't afford. I warn you that you must not expect work – when many cannot spend, more will not be able to earn. When they don't earn, they don't spend. When they don't spend, work dies. I warn you not to go into the streets alone after dark or into the streets in large crowds of protest in the light. I warn you that you will be quiet – when the curfew of fear and the gibbet of unemployment make you obedient. I warn you that you will have defence of a sort – with a risk and at a price that passes all understanding. I warn you that you will be home-bound – when fares and transport bills kill leisure and lock you up. I warn you that you will borrow less – when credit, loans, mortgages and easy payments are refused to people on your melting income. If Margaret Thatcher wins on Thursday, 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.”

Although the old are getting looked after, no one else is.

Thank you to those that answered. I'm not disabled, nor an unpaid carer (I mean I work in care) but I'm aware of some of the problems that disabled people are facing, and how they're treated from my job.
And I'm very aware it could be me, one day.
It beggars belief that the government pay people (I don't know if they're medical professionals that do the assessment? But I suspect not) to do these assessments, when surely copies of medical notes (that wouldn't put too much extra strain on doctors) from doctors and other HCPs that are experts in this, who are treating the person concerned, would actually be so much cheaper, more streamlined and fairer?
That's where the money is being wasted, you wouldn't employ a chef to give you an opinion on the condition of a house would you?

And yes, this is a horrible thread. It needs to be uncomfortable and horrible reading quite honestly for some living in their comfortable little bubble to realise what other people go through - and if not have empathy, then stop with the slating and judgement and the idea that this system is generous and fair. It's bloody not.

Nobody was given anything in this budget as far as I can see.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/brexit-2021-8-things-strangely-23601590

Work and Pensions Committee Chair Stephen Timms urged Mr Sunak to come up with a “long-term plan to make sure the benefits system can properly support people right the way through the next stage of our economic recovery.”

He added: “That must also include help for people on legacy benefits—including many disabled people and carers—who have received no additional support to help them through the pandemic.

“In this Budget, the Government has once again ignored their needs. It cannot be acceptable that people are excluded from support simply because—through no fault of their own—they are claiming older benefits.”

My DH had a severe mental breakdown 3 years ago. The only thing he gets is ESA £114 a week. I completed the forms for him as he was in no state to do it. In fact we missed out on 3 months worth because the benefits helpline wanted to speak to him to start the claim and he couldn’t. He was catatonic and would only eat once every 2 days and go to the toilet every 48 hours.

Luckily the claim was accepted without an assessment. He wouldn’t have been able to attend an assessment and having a home visit would have caused him so much distress it would have taken WEEKS to recover from.

Needless to say I had to care for him as who else was going to? I had to take unpaid leave to do this and it was a massive financial struggle.

Newsflash - giving people financial worries when they are ill does not make them better very fast!

As above, he wouldn’t have been able to cope with a pip assessment so we didn’t claim it. I spoke to a very nice lady at the job centre who said pip was designed exactly for people in our situation and could help pay for care & therapy. But there was no way to access it without causing him much more severe distress and to be honest I was barely coping with young DC, bills, financial concerns, trying to access help for my DH...I just couldn’t cope with doing this as well

We only got through that time because some family members helped us financially and he was able to start private therapy (remote on Skype to start with).

We have been bemused to see announcements of things like mortgage payment holidays and wfh policies during COVID. Things which could have helped us a lot.

I’m glad to say he is much better now but it was a horrendous period of our lives and we feel we got little support.

He wants to get back into work but there are no funds available to help with training. He can’t do what he was doing before (specialist role in the NHS) and he has no other experience. Then there’s obviously the gap now on his CV...

Meanwhile people seem to be getting loads of help with furlough etc, which is great, but the ill & disabled have just been forgotten about.

Thatcherism everywhere...

The other thing about this budget and the last is that all of this printing of money is really going to mess with inflation faster and further so continue forcing disabled to have even less in real terms.

He's a Tory

"Sunak steals my rhetoric but no substance. Working people hit by income tax rise as thresholds frozen, council tax rise, pay freeze for public sector workers, cliff edge cut in Universal Credit in months, nothing for disabled on legacy benefits and over 2 million still excluded."

— John McDonnell MP (<strong>@johnmcdonnellMP</strong>) March 3, 2021

@Rosieposy89

Agreed they could do far more to help disabled people BUT the UC system is worse for disabled people than legacy. Under legacy benefits they still have the Severe Disability Premium, Disability Premium and Enhanced Disability Premium. There is nothing like this under UC and the £20 uplift is measly in comparison. I suspect the £20 uplift is just to get people to move over to UC anyway but does show benefits aren't enough to survive on

Exactly. Many people long term if living alone will be getting sdp and DLA or PIP which together can amount to quite a bit extra. It is the ones just on ESA or JSA who live on a pitiful amount, but there is nothing stopping them switching to UC.

@TheBoredLady

My DH had a severe mental breakdown 3 years ago. The only thing he gets is ESA £114 a week. I completed the forms for him as he was in no state to do it. In fact we missed out on 3 months worth because the benefits helpline wanted to speak to him to start the claim and he couldn’t. He was catatonic and would only eat once every 2 days and go to the toilet every 48 hours.

Luckily the claim was accepted without an assessment. He wouldn’t have been able to attend an assessment and having a home visit would have caused him so much distress it would have taken WEEKS to recover from.

Needless to say I had to care for him as who else was going to? I had to take unpaid leave to do this and it was a massive financial struggle.

Newsflash - giving people financial worries when they are ill does not make them better very fast!

As above, he wouldn’t have been able to cope with a pip assessment so we didn’t claim it. I spoke to a very nice lady at the job centre who said pip was designed exactly for people in our situation and could help pay for care & therapy. But there was no way to access it without causing him much more severe distress and to be honest I was barely coping with young DC, bills, financial concerns, trying to access help for my DH...I just couldn’t cope with doing this as well

We only got through that time because some family members helped us financially and he was able to start private therapy (remote on Skype to start with).

We have been bemused to see announcements of things like mortgage payment holidays and wfh policies during COVID. Things which could have helped us a lot.

I’m glad to say he is much better now but it was a horrendous period of our lives and we feel we got little support.

He wants to get back into work but there are no funds available to help with training. He can’t do what he was doing before (specialist role in the NHS) and he has no other experience. Then there’s obviously the gap now on his CV...

Meanwhile people seem to be getting loads of help with furlough etc, which is great, but the ill & disabled have just been forgotten about.

So if he was just claiming what sounds like contributions based ESA, if you had no income or a severely reduced income you could have claimed Universal credit as well ? If you had young c and no income then you would have got a substantial amount of UC? In cases like your husband's then PIP can do a paper based assessment as long as they have enough medical reports etc which they would in his case.