To be concerned about what Liz Kendall is up to with disability benefits?

[Locutus2000]

The Times reporting just how enthusiastic Labour are about targeting the disabled.

I can only hope they are getting the worst ideas out there first, if not I dread to think what is coming in the upcoming review.

I was confident Labour would at worst be no worse than the Tories.

I was wrong.

Free archive link here.

"Do you not have to pay car tax or insurance? Or fuel for it?? I had no idea it was that free." @Vettrianofan - by free car, I assume she means that the car itself is paid for by the taxpayer (unlike cars for everyone else) rather than the fuel.

"I used to be in a category where I just met the threshold to pay high tax and it pissed me off so much. Because I still couldn't easily afford to buy a home and more.

But , is there not a group, the significantly wealthy who aren't those in the group like myself ( when I was) who really can pay more tax and absolutely should."

Actually the vast majority of the tax burden is shouldered by those at the top. Its people who are middle earners who aren't paying enough.

Consider then our education system - at all of its levels and ask if it's fit for purpose. Is the academy system actually educating? Is SEN provision doing anything for anyone other than private equity ? University debt for no jobs.

A lot of talk on this thread about the rising cost and increase of ADHD , Autism etc claiming benefits, but can I point out the woeful provision for these young people and the appalling educational discrimination against them and their families that diminish their chances to access work.

The NHS may need to be held to account for poor health outcomes, but so does education for lack of decent educational outcomes for ALL children.

The CAR is not free. Your Bil has to pay for it out of his mobility allowance. Get your facts straight.

Having a Motability car sounds more costly then if you are only getting the car itself for free on the scheme and not extra help like paying for insurance and car taxes or MOT help.

You can’t. Labour and the left leaning voters need to understand: in a global economy, there is only so much tax and other people’s money you can take before they go elsewhere. That is no good for anyone. We need people here paying tax and working. We don’t need legislation. We need a government that stops damaging productivity and encourages big tax payers to want to be here.

"A lot of people with disabilities will be capable of doing some sort of work, but where is this work? Which employer is going to hire them?"

@kitteninabasket all sorts of employers. Many disabled people (including myself) work and many more could.

I can’t believe this country has sunk so low as to attack kids on benefits.

This. Many posts on this thread are absolutely shocking.

Do you still get DLA if you get a Motability vehicle?

I'm beginning to see this. It's going in! 🤯

Amen to that 👏

@Vettrianofan - motability vehicles are exempt from car tax. They are usually leased too so have no insurance or mot.

It’s pointless getting angry about it because there’s nothing we can do but what about them all being put up in hotels.

"The CAR is not free. Your Bil has to pay for it out of his mobility allowance. Get your facts straight." @LadyKenya - the car is paid for by the taxpayer. That's the facts. So essentially it's free to the end user

This!

FFS.
It is quite telling that some people here don’t seem to understand that working people pay for these benefits.

For those who still don’t understand why some people are getting pissed off with the ever increasing benefits bill- anyone receiving MA does not pay a penny towards the car they receive. The tax payer pays for it.

Edited to say I know for a fact my BIL doesn’t pay a penny for his car. He receives a benefit from tax payers and he uses that. I’m not quite sure other way to explain this situation.

I agree, and i don't know the answer to your question. It isn't fair at all that those in genuine need are tarred with the same brush as those who abuse the system.
I suppose the genuinely ill and disabled are much easier to target than those who literally make a living from gaming the benefits system.

@LizzieSiddal I wonder how much the £72 million costs associated with the Kings coronation could fund the car mobility scheme 'losses' incurred by the tax payer.

I know it's a digression of the thread, but thanks to those users here who have put me straight on Motability. I had no idea about it as I don't know anyone personally on the scheme.

Some cars cost the full mobility allowance. There are some that don't. And the care component isn't taken into account

Hotels? Do you mean 5* ones with room service, and al la carte menu, or more likely run down hostels, that if given a choice, you would not want to lay your head in?

This is a very genuine question.

Do we actually have reliable accurate figures on these costs? Its absolutely feasible for someone to think ' hang on a minute ' if they see this and witness it in the locality they live. But can we reliably quantify it and say it costs this much and compared to say this other cost it's not that significant. Or is it significant. I'd say we might not be getting the information to know how significant this problem is.

So is the car of anyone who works in the public sector. Oh, but you will say "they didn't earn it"... so what? They have a disability that qualifies them for a car. The people that do so are usually severely disabled. I am sure they would swap that PIP money for being able bodied instead.

Once someone's PIP hits their account, it is is their money. It is not the taxpayers (and many people on PIP that have the cars, do work).

I don't think it's unreasonable to ask why there seems to be such an explosion in the amount of adults and children diagnosed. I'm obviously aware that it's easier to spot the signs and diagnose than it was 30 years ago

Well I don’t know the figures. I’d personally insist the royals give back all the land they’ve ”been given” over the centuries back to the British people. But I can’t see that happening anytime soon so in the meantime the benefits bill needs to be reduced.