To think this will just increase pressure on the poorest/vulnerable?

[Zebedee55]

Sanctions increased, putting more (often unrealistic) pressure on parents, carers, and sick/disabled.🙁

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/universal-credit-sanctions-hunt-budget-b2298836.html

My child with ASC is disabled. Spend 18 hours of the day with me and you’ll agree. It’s disabling to him, not be able to walk in a classroom without experiencing a meltdown and sensory overload. To be able to ‘manage’ school for 1 hour a day with a 1:1 in the library or breakout area. It’s disabling to not manage birthday parties, or have no awareness of how to play with other children or have friends.

To experience meltdowns for over an hour. To, at times be so aggressive that I can be punched in the head, scratched, bitten until I bleed and being told how stupid I am and how much he hates me- is disabling. To be, at times in an abusive relationship, but the abuser is my son and there is no support.

For my 5 year old to cry because “I want to be able to have friends mummy” is not just disabling but heartbreaking.

To have to fight to get anywhere with the county council because they won’t fund an adequate education.

To give up 15 years of classroom experience, 2 degrees and a life outside of the house- where being inside I’m controlled and at times, abused.

I could go on for days about it’s impact, but I won’t.

Yes- autism is a disability, but I suspect you know that.

You only get Carer's Allowance if you are caring for 35 hours per week for someone who is in receipt of certain disability benefits. Those disability benefits are not paid to people who just need "driving to a couple of appointments" or a bit of company.

@WhataKant Reading your post is like reading someone exactly describing my own husband and his illness. Going from being a happy go lucky, outgoing, confident, employed person to just a shell of a man. He is up to his eyeballs on meds, they calm him down but leave him in a zombie like state. My dh also put off seeking help till it was nearly too late because of perceived prejudice against people with "depression". His depression was left untreated and turned into psychosis, where he was hospitalised after trying to kill himself and nearly killing me and our soon too in the process. I've lost my husband. Our relationship is solely carer and patient. I'm in my fifties and can't bear to imagine another 30 odd years of this. We lost our joint income and our beautiful home when he became ill. I'd give anything to have him back to normal and be off benefits.

However, there will also be those people who claim MH and then use it as a cover to get out of working. The idea that all benefits claimants are innocent and genuine is as bizarre as the idea that they’re all gaming the system.

Not only is this disrespectful the the people who work for the Job Centre but it's also undermining medical and knowledge.

This attitude is disgusting IMO.

Aldi in my opinion if someone is so desperate to FAKE mental health problems that's a mental health problem in itself. As we have seen here, only the perfect specimens of society overcome these thoughts and go out to work even when their head has fallen off.

That was started by Labour and Gordon Brown. He allowed companies to pay a minimum amount and allowed everyone to top their wages up with tax credits.

@IMustDoMoreExercise true, but the Tories have had 13 years to change it, and they have not done so.

Careful, IMustDoMoreExercise - it's all supposed to be the Tories' fault (though TBF they've had plenty of time to change things) and mentioning that some of the poorer ideas were Labour's isn't very popular on here

The problem is that there is a shortage of workers and I assume that there is also a shortage of MH workers.

It is very easy to say that there should be more MH support or more carers or more social workers or more nurses.

But most people don't want to do those jobs and certainly not the people on MN who just complain about the lack of workers but would never be a carer or a nurse as it beneath them.

Yes ,we could import these workers, but where are they going to live? We already have a housing crisis because no-one wants houses built anywhere near them and just threaten to vote Lib Dem if the Tories ever suggest building houses in their area.

Sorry I can’t see anywhere were it says carers will have to look for work? Can anyone point me in that direction. I can see it says carers of children, I assumed that meant parents. (Not disabled carers)

Thanks.

@IMustDoMoreExercise I haven't seen anyone on MN saying that being a MH nurse is beneath them . What I have seen is qualified nurses of all kinds saying they have left the profession because it is poorly staffed and poorly paid, and after 13 years of real terms pay cuts, they've had enough. Which is why we now have strikes happening.

I don't buy the 'there is no money' argument. There was apparently £30 bn available for tax cuts when dear old Liz and Kwasi posted their Budget of Disaster. There's always money for the things the Tories like, never any for little things like paying people, funding infrastructure and supporting council services.

Life doesn't always work out as you plan it. I had a professional career, a partner and our own house. I worked hard and paid large amounts of tax. I couldn't control the fact that my DD was born with a rare neurological condition which means that she is unlikely ever to be able to live by herself. The older she gets the more conditions are being diagnosed, both physical and mental. This resulted in me having to give up work.

I couldn't control the fact that my partner died aged 50.

If I was to get a job, not only would it have to be term time only from 9.30 to 2.30. Any employer would have to be prepared to allow me to have loads of time off for medical appointments and also for the frequent physical and mental health issues which means that DD is often off school. That is not going to happen. DD is very anxious when she is not with me and getting her to go to school is a daily struggle which is not always successful.

I hate not being able to work and I volunteer when I can at a national organisation providing advice which used to be provided by law centres and local advice centres which in the main do not exist now because their funding was cut. I feel that that is my way of contributing even if only in a small way. However even my volunteer commitments are frequently interrupted because of DD. I suppose I should just try harder.

Some people's comments on here make me sick and really make me fear for DDs future.

@danni0509 that's what I am wondering too, whether unpaid carers (who are in receipt of carers allowance and UC) and who currently are not required to seek work by the DWP, will suddenly be expected to seek employment alongside their caring duties?

I agree @BlessYourHeartHoney. I have severe (but fluctuating) mental illness and what works is so personal to an individual. For me, work does improve my mental health but it's taken years and years (and trial and error) to find a job that doesn't worsen my condition. I WFH the vast majority of the time now.

@feellikeanalien I hear you. I have DC with complex needs and the ONLY way I manage to keep a job is because my current boss allows total flexibility (plus unpaid leave).

@Eightiesgirl I’m not sure how targeting carers would work. it’s not possible is it. Stupid bastards if that’s what they have in mind. Shows just how out of touch they are with reality.

The only time I don’t have to care for my ds is when he goes to his special school, it’s the only respite. It’s when I do my food shopping, clean the house, go to my own appointments, pick his medication up, arrange his appointments, catch up on sleep when he’s been up all night. Can’t do any of that when ds is home.

During holidays I can’t just whack him in childcare, he’s even on special requirements with staff ratio in his special school bcos they can’t manage with him. He’s in year 4 and only gone full time in September due to behaviour. That’s people who are thoroughly trained to deal with kids with special needs not coping with him. So good luck to normal childcare, I wouldn’t last 5 minutes in employment 😅

I’ve been on carers since he was 3, he’s 9 now. His conditions aren’t going away. If anything they are harder and more complicated to navigate the older he gets..

I don’t have any external help from family, my dh is on Lcwra and not fit to look after himself never mind our ds.

@danni0509 they would get in touch with reality PDQ if carers dropped those they cared for at Job Centres and/or A&E before heading out to work It would last about a day before they start back pedalling.

Given the recent experience of my friend, who gets CA because she has a son with MH issues who can't be left for more than a couple of hours, I have to say I wouldn't be at all surprised.

Are the government expecting carers to go find work.

Sal

@danni0509 It sounds like you definitely have your hands full. These politicians haven't a clue how real life works. I bet Jeremy Hunt has never had to care for anyone in his life. As another poster said, they'd soon backtrack on their stupid policies if we all dropped the people we care for off at the Job Centre for the staff their to look after them while we had to complete our work requirements! I do realise it is not the fault of the Job Centre staff and they are just following orders but how on earth could us carers be expected to go on training courses, apply and hold down jobs etc I am absolutely dreading the budget on Wednesday.

I think if they were going to go after carers on carers allowance there would be rumours being reported already. It's a massive one, they wouldn't be able to just drop it in

Yep, there is no mention of carers at all.

I still don't know how scrapping the WCA would work.

This might be a stupid question but do you have to be on Universal credit to get ESA? My husband is in the support group for ESA and it is contribution based, he also gets UC. He receives an extra amount for limited capability for work in his universal credit award and his ESA is deducted from this. When they talk about scrapping the Work Capability Assessment does anyone think this means they will stop this extra payment?

@inininsomnia I have severe depression and have done for years and even I think its utter bull that people can use depression as an excuse for longterm sickness.

Unfortunately most with depression have to cry themselves out of bed, and muddle their way through the day as they have bills to pay.

Short term during bad bouts - I completely agree - sometimes you need time out, but instead of funding longterm depression sickness invest in quality mental health support instead.

No, the WCA is the assessment you have to establish what benefits you go on.
I don't know what scrapping it will mean in reality. Maybe that decisions on what group you go into will be based on evidence you send in, rather than sitting face to face with someone and have them assess you.

You don't have to be on ESA to get UC. Many areas are now UC only, and it is no longer possible to get ESA in them.

@XenoBitch thank you.