Ok who wants to swap £2500 a month in benefits for my husbands MS and my epilepsy, narcolepsy and fibromyalgia.

[bluebirdblackbird]

Well according to a lot of people on here we are on a good thing.

the 20 seizures I have in a week, chronic pain and night terrors, losing my memory after a seizure, pissing myself, hallucinations. They are all great fun. Not to mention the amount of times I have been accused of being drunk after a seizure.

or there is my husband. Diagnosed with progressive MS. Cronic Pain, shaking, cronic pins and needles, weakness in limbs plus losing mobility. Had to give up his teaching job 4 months ago after gradually reducing hours.

Not to mention the judgement when we use a blue badge because we look ok in that moment. And apparently labour are going to find us both work. Yippee cant wait to meet the employer who is going to take us both on. I am sure pissing my chair on a reg basis won’t matter to them or the losing counciouness at least a couple of times a day.

i am just fed up of yet another they are on benefits and get money and it’s not fair stamp stamp stamp. The bastards have saved up for a holiday- it’s not fair. The bastards have a mobility car but they look fine, OMG- they have got new carpets or a new sofa.

since I am guessing they none of the moaners would actually swap places with us if they could then STFU.

oh and that pip that is easy to get- my husband gets lower rate for both and that is despite providing all the evidence and appealing so we are off to tribunal. He can’t even dress himself most days and he can’t hold a pan safely or manage his medication plus many other things. If he stays on the points he is on he will lose his pip completely under these new labour proposals.

but most people know someone who’s friends, aunts, nephews, stepdaughters, cousin twice removed who lied and got it. I was taking to a lady in a wheelchair who does not get any mobility component of pip at all.

Many people do exactly that. They get PIP and work. It’s a stand alone benefit centred on disability alone and doesn’t qualify you for any other benefit unless you also qualify for that benefit at some level. It can enhance the amount of some benefits, such as the current LCWRA on UC, and can enhance pension credit and other benefit payments but there has to be an underlying entitlement to that benefit to start with. I would have thought that a combined income of 2500 a month (equating to £1250 per person would be a mix of PIP and either contribution based ESA or the sickness elements of UC,and various housing benefits.

I don't think it's folk like you that people begrudge benefits going to. It's the chances and scampers and the ones who always find something to exploit.

Yes, but you can get a DLA award without straying into the more extreme end of things. I know this for a fact as I know people that have successfully done this.

I have fibromyalgia (diagnosed by a specialist) and it's a god damn nightmare. I feel like I'm starting with the flu every single day...body aches, stomach issues, headaches, falling asleep constantly. I don't have the capacity to work under those conditions.

Such black and white thinking. Life simply doesn't work like that.

For child DLA it’s pretty simple. There has to be a disability related need making that chid more dependent than a child of similar age without the disability. It’s one of the hardest benefits to claim because all children are dependent, so you have to meet a defined threshold.

It will likely just make the lives of those most in need harder rather than actually protecting them.

It isn't some objective threhold like you describe and 'normal' levels of dependency of a child can vary massively.

Half of Mumsnet seem to be absolutely determined to argue that their severe disabilities or their very disabled children prove that the current welfare system is without nuance and everyone who disagrees is a benefit basher. On the other hand, many of us understand that:

There IS a sliding scale of disability.

It IS possible to claim fraudulently and it DOES happen.

Some people DO know people who claim fraudulently - it HAPPENS. I’ve heard people on here say it’s all fairy tales and nonsense as if they cannot believe people would ever falsely claim.

PIP assessors are individuals whose biases and opinions will affect their decision which means that some who deserve PIP end up at tribunal and others who arguably don’t get awards relatively easily. This absolutely DOES happen.

There ARE entire Facebook groups and public forums with swathes of information on how to present your case which means that the disingenuous people in our society (before anyone starts, I am not saying all benefit claimants are disingenuous but they DO exist) have easy access to this, making it easier to fraudulently claim.

Mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression CAN be exaggerated. So can some physical conditions.

Not ALL disabilities come with additional costs to be funded by someone else.

When some people say they are too disabled to work, some of them absolutely could but won’t because their benefits afford them the same lifestyle.

There IS an argument that working tax payers funding brand new cars, holidays and handbags for other people when they can’t afford to fix their ten year old car isn’t fair.

The bill IS unaffordable and DOES need addressing.

An unsustainable system is the biggest risk for all disabled people. In the short term it may feel better but in the long term you risk catastrophe.

@Bumpitybumper if you look back in the thread you’ll see I’ve made the same point as you re people with disabilities repeatedly. Two things can be true at the same time - people with disabilities can be very successful and there are many more barriers to achieving that success.

There can be significant barriers to people changing jobs, earning more etc but in the same circumstances disabled people will always have an additional barrier. Both my kids are care experienced, one also has a disability.

My DS has challenges due to his care experience and will need to find ways to manage those challenges throughout his life. There’s no reason to think he can’t find meaningful work and make a life for himself despite those challenges.

My DD has all the challenges that come with being care experienced and has a disability. The disability means it’s much harder for her to make sense of her early years, and the disability itself means she’ll need considerable support into adulthood. Life will always be that bit harder for her because of the cumulative impact of disability and care experience.

Lots of people have challenging circumstances, experience trauma, have adversities. Every single one of those is made harder by disability.

and even then, you can still get declined. I saw a Facebook post recently from a baffled mother because her baby is tube fed and was totally declined because apparently a tube fed baby doesn't have more care needs than a baby who doesn't need tube feeding.

It makes me wish that it would be a requirement for those who go through the forms to have a medical background.

There are very definitive tests under the NHS for Autism. 1.5 years for my child, they regularly saw a mental health nurse, child psychologist, speech and language therapist and a clinical psychiatrist. They have also needed adult services and another psychologist since, no walk in the park.

Well.yes because there are different levels and lengths of award

So HOW do you tell the GENUINE from the not genuine, DO you just refuse them ALL benefits JUST in case

No, it's not a definitive test. Sorry but it just isn't. They have not developed a definitive test yet.

I was a disability outreach worker for over twenty years. I’d be rich if l had a pound for the number of people who have told me they know someone is cheating. The fact is that unless you live with someone 24/7, 365 days a year, know and understand their medical history, are privy to the information on their benefit claim and have sat in on the assessment carried out to determine their eligibility, you can’t possibly make that judgement.

The problem is that we all know that some people game the system. And so do successive governments. Unfortunately, because they’re too lazy to carry out the root and branch reform needed (and promised by Labour) to fix what is a broken and unfair system of assessment and award, preferring to tighten existing eligibility conditions instead, it’s always going to be the genuinely disabled who pay the price. Because the end result is ever higher levels of actual disability which should attract support, being screened out.

Compassion and decency have to be paid for though. It is not unreasonable for people to ask questions about how things get funded, the level and extent.

The thing is, cutting benefits is not going to bring the tax bill down. Someone not getting their mobility car isn't going to help someone else fix their car.

We are in a race to the bottom, and it's helping no one.

I agree something needs to be done, but I think we are going about it backwards. If disability and mental health are worsening, why? The state of the NHS and mental health services probably has a lot to do with it.

Fix that first.

Also, it gets said on every thread like this, but no one ever takes it on board. There are no fucking jobs. We are trying to push people into jobs that do not exist.

Fix that next. We need growth. We need a working infrastructure.

Then it might be worth trying to push people into work.

Lots of people Try and claim for very tenuous reasons I see it daily on the DLA Facebook im.on it doesn't mean they are successful though

I can't believe you're still getting people arguing the toss with you. £2.5k doesn't go far and I imagine being disabled is expensive!

I don't claim benefits but you have 100% of my support, I am happy for my tax to pay PIP and any social safety nets. I would rather fund people's needs than subsidise big business and multimillionaire tax breaks that's for sure.

You can make the same argument about any barrier or additional challenge though. It intrinsically makes life harder. So it's hard to be a child who has been in care but it's even harder to be poor and a child on care etc. Poverty makes everything harder too. As does lack of family support etc.

Is anyone specifically arguing that the OP shouldn’t be receiving that money for the 2 of them?

My son died from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) before his 20th birthday. Solidarity to anyone with disabilities being shamed by society.

Really difficult in the case of babies. Age is a factor and infants have to meet a higher threshold to distinguish them from the very high levels of dependence which would apply to infants without a disability. In my experience this was only met in cases where there was need for oxygen to be carried around.