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.

Isn’t a one week holiday on the Rowntree list of goods and services that make up a decent but modest life?

I mean, they already do this via universal credit for low paid people, via housing benefit for low paid people

But that's not what public sentiment is doing. According to the British Social Attitudes survey, which is the gold standard for public sentiment, anti-welfare sentiment is low and declining. Even for conservative voters. This information is easy to find, but I've linked to it for your convenience.

Right wingers always go on about wanting "mature" discussions that engage with "reality". In my experience, they don't care about facts at all, and the minute they are confronted them, they run for the hills.

We don't need to cut benefits in order to stop the public voting for the far right, because that's not even what the public wants. It's just what you want, stop trying to pretend that everyone else has your back.

natcen.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-09/BSA%2040%20Poverty.pdf

There has to be a minimum amount paid to people on either universal credit top ups or disability. Some people will manage to afford a holiday on that money, that's ok.

I doubt people are going through the horrific application process if they don’t need to…
Based on the Pip criteria I would 100% be eligible for mobility (because I can’t walk at all by myself or very far supported). However I am luckily in a financial situation where we’ve decided the stress of trying to apply, being denied and going through tribunal (because the cause is rare and not visible) is not worth it, because I can manage financially without it as I come from a wealthy family.

Now even based on my own earnings I would be eligible under your scheme (unfortunately the NHS does not pay that well) so I do believe that people with high levels of income/wealth are likely self selecting out of the benefits system (I know others in similar situations where either their family or their DH or them earns enough money that they don’t see it as worth it). And yes I do recognise that this is in some way privileged though I and my family would give up the money for my body to work again…

Look at page 12 of your report and you will see a substantial drop in support between 2017-2021 for the idea that disabled people who cannot work should receive more benefits . 11% swing over 4 years in relatively huge when you look at the other categories. Do we think this trend has continued over the past four years? I suspect it has but of course you will probably disagree.

I am not running to the hills. I am happy today discuss and debate.

If it's a necessity then it should be equally available to everyone. This means the government should look at funding able bodied people's holidays too.

If it's a luxury then I believe nobody should have their holiday government funded. We simply don't have the money or resources to fund luxuries for people when so many people are going without the very basics.

But as an able bodied person you can choose the cheaper holidays. Many disabled people don't have that luxury

He won’t have been paying for this. NHS continuing healthcare paid for it.

People without experience don’t seem to be able to understand this. They just feel envy and bitterness. Not very nice people.

Exactly!

With the changes to the descriptors coming in November it is easier to get 4 points
i have CP and my previous highest was 3 points.
I will get 4 points on 3 descriptors then.
The point of the new descriptors is to disqualify less severe conditions who can wash and dress themselves and cook a simple meal, therefore being able to work.
just because people claim, doesn’t mean they receive an award.
I’m furious they have imposed these cuts on the most vulnerable and instead still spend billions on overseas aid which could be reduced Not to mention housing the migrants
Labour appear to find every loophole to avoid paying taxes and the facts are emerging now.
I voted labour as I thought they would support the most vulnerable but they have u turned on their promises
Reform have 4 years yet to come up with their plans
Whilst I don’t like Farage as a person, I believe he has the country’s best interest at heart

How do you know I can? Many able bodied people don't have access to a car and public transport doesn't necessarily reach some of the places that cheaper holidays can be found or it can be incredibly expensive.

There are also lots of people that have a health condition that doesn't qualify as a disability (almost half of Brits have a chronic health conditions). This can hugely impact what is and isn't accessible for me.

Then of course I could also have lots of children and therefore not be able to take advantage of cheap deals as the accommodation is unsuitable.

Finally and most importantly, I can't take advantage of cheap deals if I have NO money. Poverty is the biggest barrier to someone being able to access a cheap holiday. If you have no money you aren't going anywhere.

Haha are you actually serious? That's one of the worst cases of cherry picking I've ever seen.

According to that table, 56% of people want more spending for disabled people and 4% want less. That's a fourteen fold difference! And you are choosing to focus on the fact of a small reduction in the people who positivity want more in the last few years, when it's actually still higher than just 10 years ago.

There has been literally no increase at all in people who want less, so this reduction will consist entirely of people who now think the current amounts are about right.

There is no support for your position in that table, and loads of evidence against it, both in those figures and in the rest of the report, which I would strongly encourage other readers to check out for themselves.

Nil points to you for engagement with reality.

What changes are coming to make it easier to score 4 points in a descriptor?

I'm on enhanced rate pip ongoing. My local authority assessed me as needing 14 hours care per week. But, because we own our own home and have 12k joint savings I would have to pay for it myself. My husband is in his mid 70's and unable to do everything for me so my pip has to fund 2 hours care per week, just enough time for 2 showers and hair washes per week, 2 hours cleaning and 1 hour gardening. My incontinence products cost me £40 per week, I also have to pay for supermarket deliveries. My WAV will need replacing in a couple of years which means finding at least £8k deposit because we're not on means tested benefits.
If I have any spare money, even if its just £10, I save it to pay for flights to Europe to see my son, dil and grandchild.
I worked full time for nearly 40 years before I became disabled, I won't be around to claim my state pension, then so yes, I'm having a bloody holiday whenever I can.

Having lots of children is a choice though, my son getting cancer which left him disabled wasn't a choice.

Using DLA so my son is able to access a more expensive accessible room is only necessary due to his disability. Before, we were able to go on cheaper holidays which are now inaccessible for him.

I know that not everyone can afford even the cheapest of holidays but that's going to be the case no matter what I choose to spend my son's DLA on.

@thegoodlifehaThey are on the benefits and work website and have been verified
can’t link sorry

Me cherry picking the data? 2021 is the most recent year of data available and clearly shows a sharp decline compared to 2017. An 11% drop over four years is the second biggest drop recorded in support over all categories across all years. It absolutely isn't statistically 'small'. Support was at 56% in 2021 but started at 72% in 1998. Again, this isn't some insignificant, unimportant shift in public attitude, especially against the backdrop of a general rise in support for welfare.

The conversion in a drop of support for increases in welfare for groups to an increase in support for cuts is an interesting point. Retired people are the other group that have seen a significant drop in support for them recieving more benefits and the data shows that it took a few years for the drop in support to convert to an increase in people supporting cuts. I would expect a similar trend in all categories as support generally reduces is reflected in a decrease in support for rises and an increase for support in cuts.

Finally this data is 4 years old. I would argue that attitudes have only really begun to really shift over the past few years and most notably the last year. There has been a lot more coverage about disability benefits since the CoL crisis and the budget. I would be very interested to see the most recent data

The government is not funding anyone's holidays. People are choosing to spend their own money on holidays. Where that money comes from does not really matter. Once it is in their bank account, it is theirs.

If someone on benefits can budget and afford a holiday then they are doing nothing wrong.

@CentralLimit
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/trackers/do-people-who-have-a-disability-need-more-support-from-the-benefits-system

Shows that support has further declined since the 2021 survey as expected.

Can you tell us what they are? Not much point saying ‘the changes’ and not explaining what the changes are

This is such a silly argument! Just because your bank account is acting as some middleman between the state and the travel agent it doesn't stop it being true that the government is funding your holiday. Yes, it's all within current rules but if it's morally correct or a fair use of public money is a different question.

Are you registered with the local incontinence service? They will provide you with a certain amount of pads each week/month, but you would need to pay for any extra ones.

Such a shame you have to pay for your care package. It's not cheap!

It is not a silly argument.

I will not be made to feel I am doing something wrong by having autonomy over my own finances.
The term 'the tax payer's money' is ridiculous. People like you use to to benefit bash people like me, and look down on us. You never had that money in your account to start with. Nothing is being taken from you, yet you talk like I have marched you to the cashpoint and demand you buy me a holiday.
So I am not allowed to spend MY money on anything other than food, housing and bills? I have already been told on this thread that I am meant to have nothing left after that. Not even allowed to save up in case my fridge breaks.
Being disabled and unable to work is shit. Sorry if I want to make my life a little less shit and have some treats. If you begrudge me that then you need to take a hard look at yourself.

Having to live on benefits is grim enough without judgement from people like you. One day, this life could be yours.