Stop the Abolition of DLA

[Glitterknickaz]

The government are proposing to get rid of DLA in favour of PIP. full consultation here

Riven started a fantastic thread in Chat with the very pertinent point that this applies to everyone, that every one of us could be just one step from disability themselves.

There is NOTHING in the media about this. These proposals could mean poverty for the disabled and their families in this country. It could leave some in residential care completely isolated from their families and support networks through the removal of the mobility component.

My family has already been hit three times through the NHS, education and aiming high, via the cuts, if they now remove the money from our pockets we are going to be in a heat or eat situation.

Please MNHQ do something, as many are oblivious to these proposals and what they will mean, including those who themselves already claim DLA.

Had a google Amelia Gentleman wrote the guardian article and a follow up today according to their site her email will be: [email protected]

Could also submit emails for the letters from readers page. Letters for publication should be sent to these addresses. The sender's full postal address and phone number are required, for verification only: [email protected]

For The Times I can't get into it properly because I don't pay, but go to www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/ and in the top right next to the search box there is 'contact us' click that, click 'Do you have a story' then submit a short summary of cuts.

What is PIP?

I don't fully understand what the government are planning to do?

Sorry, I am lucky enough to not have to rely on DLA, though a friend of mine gets the lower rate for her panic attacks, don't really understand...

Could someone please explain briefly and succinctly without links to lengthy websites. Thanks.

I run Ableize, the UK's biggest disability resource and have received over 100 emails from greatly concerned disabled people, their families and carers. There are a few petitions around concerning the DLA issues sign the petition here. www.surveymonkey.com/s/lcdDLA

www.ableize.com

Thank you for that link

Hello mummies, well it seems this government is defo out for the families who need there support the most. My mum has three disables children, I say children but there young adults all in the twenties n one in his thirties... Who she look after at home, it's hard but she would never dream of putting them in to care, defo. Become harder, respite charges are a fortune, where the care is not great, I can tell this government need to support families which really need there help.... You would think mr cameron havin a child with learning difficulties would understand the needs of parents a children more, but being wealthy he wouldn't and couldn't understand their needs.....that all for now

docfunk.... once you've made sure you've eradicated the disabled then perhaps you could eradicate those that are not white, blonde and blue eyed?

Then we can all be perfect.

Disabled people contribute to society as much as anyone else. Probably more than you do given your opinions.

Hmmm. At the risk of being flammed to death I do have to say that I feel that a change needs to be made to DLA. In my role as a social worker and my previous role with CAB I have helped many people claim a whole range of welfare benefits and with DLA a good proportion used the money as income rather than to meet a disability. In many of these cases this is due to necessity because the benefits that people are supposed to live on, rather than use to meet disssability needs, are way to low in reality for people who are long term unable to work. Given this there are also many people - I have some on my current caseload - who have saved over £20,000 of DLA money. I have people with motability scheme cars who never use them for themselves but lend them to friends or family. I've had people applying for direct payments for support with a range of things including help with mobility needs when they are in reciept of both high rate care and mobility components of DLA and are just saving the DLA money. Sorry but the DLA should be being used to meet these needs not cash strapped local authorites.

I feel its obscene that some people will claim to get support for a dissability need via both direct payments and DLA and then other peolpe who need support are unable to get the help they need - perhaps because they haven't brought out their difficulties on the awful DLA form and the social care budget has been spent on people double claiming.

Given my observations I tend to think that what is needed is as follows

A substantial increase in the applicable ammounts so that all people who depend on benefits long term for their income have a realistic amount on which to live.

The phasing out of DLA with it being replaced by direct support based on assessment and need. This would mean that the money would be used in a more proportionate way and would need to be spent on relief mechanisms for the persons disability rather than used as income or just used as savings. The personalisation agenda goes some way to this but I think that a big opportunity has been missed - the money should have been given - ring fenced - to local authorites to fund a whole rand of support for disabled people.

Hope I don't get flamed for posting this but I guess it would be appropriate to say C'est le vie.

I would also like to point out that people with the types of dissability which warrants a claim for DLA are able to claim the benefit and work - the legislation is supposed to look at the level of dissabiilty and how the arrising needs can be addressed.

I know in the real world this is often not how things work, frequently because BAM's doctors do not have a clue about the legislation but there is a good appeals system via tribunals and if neccessary commissionaires - just get support if you do need to appeal a decission and attend the hearing as this tips the ballance of actually winning vastly in your favour.

Yes, but what about increased living expenses - ie utilities like electricity and water due to continence issues? I use DLA to meet those and having all the correct equipment wouldn't help with those bills.

What about all the clothing that gets wrecked? Or would that be supplied direct from SS?

I also have issues with direct supply, the continence service is supposed to do this but limits you to 3 per day and one for night despite this not being fit for purpose.

Different disabilities need the money spending differently. Surely the way DLA is structured now enables the disabled individual to control for themselves how their needs are provided for?

We don't get direct payments, respite or even emotional support tbh, I pay for that myself. This is with three disabled children.

I'm not saying DLA is perfect by the way, it does need tweaking - but the proposed PIP system intends to remove 19.5% of genuine claimants and toss them into the ether.

buzzy, you see the reason that wouldn't work is because Riven's social services dept had assessed her needs and decided that they were being met.

We don't get DP because the social workers have said that my DH should help me more. In reality, if he did, he would lose his job. He is a university lecturer and they have put all over their reports that he doesn't help me in the holidays because he is doing his research.

FFS, his research IS his job. That is what he gets paid for and what he is allowed to take 4 weeks a year holiday from.

Our social workers have also told me that I can't complain about ds not sleeping at night because I refused to take him to the GP to get sleep drugs for him so it is my own fault (our GP is dyametrically opposed to sleep drugs in any case).

You might be very good at your job. I have no idea, but you are certainly NOT resourced enough to even begin to understand the difficulties and pressures that an individual family face, and as such should NOT be in a position to play God with their lives.

We've been told we don't qualify for DP as neither of us work. Er.... hello.... we're not exactly on holiday you know? Plus apparently as we have two school age children we have plenty of free time. Not so. DS2 is not full time despite being statutory school age, we're constantly toing and froing from the school picking up and dropping off for different sessions, they still have frequent medical appointments....

buzzy one of the major issues I have with the proposed changes is the assessment.

How do you assess certain disabilities - like autism?

How on earth does a stranger decide what affect it has on someone's life and what their needs are better than the people involved?

Why should disabled people have to undergo repeated assessments to keep the benefit if their circumstances don't change?

How would an employer view time off work to attend these assessments?

can't work out if Riven wants more money or time off, probably both.

I'm fine with the money we're on.... but we stand to lose it. We have just got limited respite which we are losing in eight weeks, we're dealing with that.

Losing DLA means poverty and I'm terrified. Who is with me?

well I don't actually get any money glitter

but... I know people who it absolutely definitely will mean that they don't have an income if they lose DLA

I find it pretty terrifying that society seems not to mind though

poverty? like not eating, no home, no clothes? try again

Yes, living with the pigs, William, the pigs........

Riven doesn't want money OR time off. She wants respite.

sorry don't understand the ref to pigs if aimed at me, try again

respite = time off caring for another, or am i missing something

that is indeed what poverty means, why would anyone need to try again?

It's a quote from a Knight's tale, but yes, your definition of poverty is quite the same as mine therefore I have not a clue what you are trying to contribute here.