What do people actually expect DLA to be spent on??

[Whoknowshey]

This comes off a thread I read recently where a poster was being criticised for spending DLA on a fridge .

Im curious as to what people think DLA / PIP should be spent on ? Due to various circumstances I am aware of what people spend it on and I also have a child in receipt PIP so I know how theirs gets spent . Some differs to how my child’s is spent. Some I agree with , some I don’t but the fact is it’s for the individuals needs and that varies massively. Especially with non physical disabilities it would be hard to spend it on things directly related to their needs but there are many ways in which it affects their lives that it can help with .

Some I have came across;

• theme park passes- the child cannot do what others can , going out with friends etc . The passes give the opportunity to enjoy childhood safely.
• Toys/ things for hyperfocuses - a hyper focus is a form of regulation . To some it may look like an obsession with a character but it’s actually a way for the individual to regulate.
• Towards the family income because parents cannot work.
• Furniture - lots can get destroyed due to the individuals issues.
• Save it towards the child’s future . The child may not ever be able to get a job and adult social care is appalling .

I think all those things are justified . But I have seen comments against that.

My child has PIP as a young adult. They have a part of the money as theirs to do with what they wish ( which can be wasted hence why they do not have it all and I am their appointee - but also they have no way of having extra money as cannot work nor claim any benefits , have to stay in education to hold on to that EHCP and to help with their life skills etc ) A part goes into the house because I care for them financially as though they are a child - yet usually parents do not have to do this with an adult child. They know exactly what they are paying for with this - rent, shopping etc, social groups. It doesn’t really touch what I spend on them as the majority actually goes on a mobility car , because they have to be taken to most places . This way they are paying bills etc as they see it - an itemised of what they pay - because I know if they go in to supported living it will be eaten up by that and I don’t want them to get used to just having all that money, I think the way I do it is justified as it is for their needs ( food aversions so more expensive shop , get through clothes very quickly due to sensory issues , hyper focuses , social groups specific to their needs ) .

A bit fed up of seeing people attacked because someone doesn’t deem what they spend as “ for their needs “ yet those needs are so vast .

Interested on thoughts.

Of course you do. Everyone knows it. Why say that you don’t.

This has been mentioned several times, on this thread, and others. I really wish that those people who get so exercised about how DLA/ PIP is being spent, directed their energy instead towards the mess that is the assessment process, and registered their displeasure about the amount of money it is costing taxpayers in appeals, firmly at the Government's door.

Because both benefits are based on needs

I know people with Autism who don't get pip because they don't meet the criteria

but that's not bashing disabled people and their families is it....

Because you don’t get either for a diagnosis you get it for need which you have to prove. 4 in my house have robust nhs autism diagnoses. Only 1 has PIP as only 1 meets the criteria.

No you don’t.

You get DLA/PIP for demonstrating that the impact the diagnosed condition has on your daily life and/or mobility is such that is reaches certain thresholds set by parliamentarians.

I know, but at least it might be something constructive they could do, for once!

Your can’t get a motability car for ADHD alone - the assessment for mobility component is difficult enough for physically disabled claimants to secure, so the notion that it’s given out like sweeties just for ADHD is ridiculous. Similarly people claiming for mental health. Do you know what the guidelines are for mental health claims ? Simple anxiety and depression which is GP led and treated with GP prescribed first line medication largely doesn’t qualify for PIP. To qualify the claimant must demonstrate secondary consultant led treatment by mental health specialist teams. The only claimants under the care of their GP for mental health who will have a chance of a successful claim are those who have been discharged back into their care after secondary consultant involvement. There is a very high bar to be met for a PIP claim for mental health alone with no other physical conditions to be taken into account.

Yes but they won't.

This whole thread brings to mind some of my mother's pensioner friends.

They are constantly moaning about those 'on benefits'. Many of them say they are going to vote Reform to stop it (and the boats).

When I asked my mother if they decline winter fuel allowance, the answer was 'of course not'. They are all reasonably wealthy. The hypocrisy is astounding.

Posters on these threads ought to walk a day in one of our shoes. It's fucking spiteful. There is no real cost/ benefit analysis going on here. Just misguided hate and jealously.

Just to be absolutely clear, the level of need may be deemed similar i.e. High, medium etc but the costs associated with the needs can be vastly different and this isn't accounted for in the process at all. Expenses absolutely aren't evidenced.

Also there is an element of self reporting even if this is evidenced through reports written by medical professionals. Say for example, ADHD, a large amount of the evidence provided will be the individual's and their associate's experiences expressed to assessors and other medical professionals. If you say you always lose objects for example, are able to explain how this frequently impacts your life and give some examples then the assessor will have to ultimately take your word for it. They can't observe you actually living your life and witness you losing things constantly.

It’s not the diagnosis that counts for any disability. What is assessed is the effect of that disability on a range of mobility and daily living activities and the claimant has to meet the threshold to obtain an award. So that poster is right.

My BiL receives PIP. He has learning disabilities but does also work.
In his case his PIP covers:
a) prepared food costs - he cannot cook or prepare a meal so to live as independently as possible he has a fresh cooked meal delivered daily
b) his earnings will likely never be more than minimum wage so he saves some as he won’t receive a huge pension either
c) travel to work costs as his disabled bus pass doesn’t apply before 930am
d) adaptive clothing items
e) home maintenance costs - his are likely higher than many people’s as he potentially needs to pay someone to do things that he cannot
f) a cleaner as he was struggling to keep up with it whilst also working

I’m sure some people would find ‘fault’ with those choices but it means he can live pretty independently and safely - something we all have the right to do.

Yes pretty much , he can cope with the triggers when he’s regulated or in a situation he can easily regulate . I think that’s why you find that some individuals exhibit different behaviours at home to school or why those in SEN schools do much better than mainstream - because they’re in an environment that they feel safe in so they can regulate easier . I think that’s why my son can deal with what would be triggers in theme parks , because it supports him to naturally regulate.

Also , how refreshing for someone to hear a point of view that explains and can say “ that makes sense now , I get that, that helped me understand “ x

"Fewer people would be eligible as vouchers would be linked to specific items or needs that the DWP would approve."

If vouchers are going to cover all people's disability expenses then a voucher system will be more expensive than DLA and PIP are now.

that’s not true. All that says is you are easily manipulated by things you’ve read.

The aspects that aren’t assessable are taken into account on the balance of probability. If that probability isn’t the norm for the condition or disability being assessed, it won’t be considered - assessors have experts in the field of disability to refer to where there is doubt. And at no point did I say that expenses had to be evidenced because there is no requirement for that. Cost is assessed indirectly based on the level of need - based on the medical model of disability as opposed to the social model used to assess child DLA.

The level of disability and the evidence provided to prove it are what counts. And whether or not you lose objects doesn’t form part of the assessment. There are ten daily living activities and two mobility activities assessed and claimants have to demonstrate the difficulty directly attributable to their level of disability within those parameters. There are two levels of benefit payable - standard, for those with moderate needs and advanced for every level of disability above that.

Presumably you’d like to see disabled people and their families made to account for every penny spent, making already difficult lives even more complicated. I’d be fine with that as long as it was applied to child benefit too.

My son's got put in with the household finances, as it was spent on his weighted blanket, older child reins etc. When I was trying to find a dietary way to help his symptoms, it went on organic food too. That actually didn't work.

Why is always losing something going to get you PiP? It’s a 14 page massive form with specific sections that requires strong paper evidence. The child in my house who has PIP has adhd too and didn’t even mention losing things
in her very successful application. Autism and adhd diagnoses come with a report outlining difficulties which you could use as evidence however I can’t see how losing things is going to give you anywhere near enough points in any of the PIP sections to meet the criteria for PIP.

Absolutely spot on. Whenever the government is planning a round of controversial cuts it’s always preceded by badmouthing the recipients to soften up the public for what’s coming. People fall for it every time.

Whatever McFadden does with PIP will take time to implement and Labour will most likely be out at the next election so I would take all this talk of PIP reform with a big pinch of salt.

Absolutely!

people think it’s so easy to get .

Someone could suffer with mental health / anxiety and cannot face going out .

Someone with autism may be unable to leave the house alone due to the danger that would put them in.

someone with a physical disability may be unable to go out alone because they are in a wheelchair and need someone with them.

In a life or death situation the person with mental health may struggle and be extremely distressed but could physically leave the house alone and be safe.

The person in a wheelchair absolutely could not physically leave the house alone.

The person with autism could physically leave the house alone, but would be in so much danger that they could not reach their destination safely and the life or death situation is not relevant because they aren’t reaching the destination .

2/3 would get high rate mobility and it’s not the person with mental health issues / anxiety.

I think reform of the benefit as promised by labour is a good idea. If it were made fairer and more transparent as far as the assessment process is concerned it would make the awards more accurate and a shed load of money would be saved on the appeals process which is the only way some claimants can get a fair award. Currently 70% of claimants who go to appeal are successful. As far as I can see this is the biggest indictment of the system as it stands - clearly something is very wrong but no-one wants to address it. So far all that happens is a bit of tinkering around the edges which usually results in genuine claimants being affected and doesn’t have any significant effect on fraud levels or the quality of the decision making.

My DD receives DLA for Autism and it is spent on:

• Additional heating costs for her sensory issues
• She also has ARFID and therefore has an astonishingly restricted and specific diet so I need to shop at 3 different supermarkets to buy these specific items. Some aren’t cheap!
• She has to have a certain (very specific) style of underwear due to sensory reasons.
• Same thing for types of clothes she will wear although she’s not too fussy with clothes, just a few things she has sensory issues with. Need ‘Skorts’ for school for example and they must be stretchy - M&S Jersey Skorts! PLUS getting her into busy shops in town is near impossible so I often have to resort to pricey delivery charges.
• Shoes have to have a certain style of footbed for her to feel comfortable in due to, yet again, sensory issues. This is allllllways more expensive. Also as I said above, shoe shops are hell for her so I order online. Recently I had to order 3 pairs, from 3 different shops. Each one was £6.99 delivery and £4.99 return fee! All this to get one pair which hopefully fits!
• I could never (& have never) successfully get/got DD onto public transportation due to sensory overload so we have to drive everywhere which is more expensive + parking.
• She HATES flavoured things and only likes certain very mild scents so sometimes I need to pay a little bit more for toothpaste (£5 per tube for flavourless toothpaste!), shampoo, conditioner, soap & deodorant.
•Sometimes, I have to get someone in to do DIY on something small but which requires a noisy electric device/to do any job that I could probably do myself but she couldn’t handle the noise, this is so that I can take her out whilst it’s done. This not only costs for the hire of the workman but also any cost involved in taking her out.
• As I touched upon above, DD in shops = hell, so allllllllll groceries must be bought online. If I run out of milk half way through the week then it has to be a Deliveroo groceries order which we all know the cost of!
• There’s also a multitude of things I buy/try/test her with that I’m so certain will work or she’ll love, which mostly go down like a lead balloon and those costs add up!

There are sooooo many more nuanced little things which are too small to mention but also very much DO add up!

*I realise I’ve made it sound like my DD rules the roost and that she never goes out anywhere but that’s absolutely not the case! Every day she’s not at school she at least comes on a dog walk! Plus visiting family or one of her clubs. It’s just shopping environments she doesn’t cope with.

I don't know why you insist on reciting the whole process to me. I genuinely already know all this stuff. I was referencing PIP for ADHD and losing things i.e. forgetfulness.

I didn't say I wanted disabled people to account for every penny. I don't think that would work. Weird though that you are 'fine' with that as long as the same rules are applied to CB. I don't claim CB so it doesn't really bother me but I find your logic interesting. You don't actually care about the burden placed on disabled people as long as parents have to deal with it too? You obviously also REALLY don't care about disabled parents that will have a double whammy of administrative burden. As long as you stick one to those pesky parents right?

We get MRC for DD would say we're an average mumsnet 2 parent professional couple... DDs mainly goes on the cost of hobbies like she can't acess large group swimming lessons so we pay for private ones. We also use it for things like ear plugs as they get lost all the time etc. It all goes in to the family pot but then I put half in to a separate pot and that saves up in case she needs anything particular that's a bigger spend...off the top of my head she uses the trampoline after school to regulate herself so we got a new one the other year...that kind of thing. She isn't severely disabled by any means but still needs lots of help. I haven't been able to progress at work as much as my peers due to the amount of time taken for meetings foe her and appointments so I don't feel bad about claiming at all.